ee'iz- u,nfi,714(4b0/4
J_ii ' ""/
1W JAS. CLARK.
POETICAL
GUMMY.
In the hour of keenest sorrow—
In the hour of deepest woe—
Wait thou for the corning morrow,
To the sad and suffering go—
Make it thy sincerest pleasure
To administer relief : —
Freely opening thy treasure
To assuage a brother's grief.
Go anti seek the orphan's sighing—
Seek the widow in her tears :
As on mercy's pinions flying,
Go, dispel their darkest fears ;
Seek the stranger sad and weary,
Pass not on the other sole,
Though the task be sad and dreary ;
Heeding not the scorn of pride.
Go with manners unassuming
In a meek and quiet way—
O'er the father ne'er presuming
Though thy brother sadly stray ;
'Tis a Saviour's kind compassion—
'Tis his righteousness alone,
All unmerited salvation,
That around thy path huth shown.
When thy heart is warmly glowing
With the sacred love of prayer,
Be thy works of kindness flowing
Not as with a miser's care.
Duty e'er should be thy watchword—
Pity drop the balmy tear ;
Always toward the fallen cherish
Sympathy and love sincere.
~~~~3~53~~~v
LETTER FROM CASSIUS M. CLAY.
WHITE HALL P. 0., Ky., June 28, 1848.
Dear Greeley :—As you have had some
time to cool as well as myself, and seem
yet hesitating whether or not to go for
the regular Whig nomination, you will
allow me to suggest a few thoughts for
your consideration. We are both Whigs
from youth tip to the present time. We
certainly, then, if we should think pro
per at any time to change our party al
liances, canndt be reproached with de
serting our first love for any other mo
tives than because the Whigs cease to
be worthy df farther alliances. That
you should hesitate what to do in the
present emergency, when the subject of
Slavery Extension comes up for imme
diate action, is to the a source of pleas
ure and hope rather than of pain or cen
sure. Let us, then see:.
In the first place; fdirfiess; requires
Northern men to go for the nomination.
The friends of Taylor wished to run him
as an independent candidate ; but no;
said you and I, if a " Whig, but not an
ultra Whig," let him come into the Con
vention and stand or fall with the Whigs.
It can hardly be possible that you Wish
ed to bring us into counsel to destroy
us. Personal honor, then, requires ydu
to support Taylor, unless the Republic
manifestly would receive great detri
ment by your fidelity to pledges. Let
us see. Can we beat Taylor and Cuss
with a freg soil candidate 1 If we can,
the great question of the age requires
us to insure a certainty. Whigs should
elect a man who will vete all Slave Ex
tension. I think you will believe with
me, that " the time has not yet come."—
Any defection, then, on our part, will
entire to the benefit of Lewis Cuss and
to the injury of Z. Taylor. Now, how
ever much denounced, I am for the
"LESSER EVIL." I know no morality ba
sed upon any other principle than to
look around you and make the best of
all the circumstances which occur. Any
other principle puts the good in the
power of the bad—the scrupulous in the
power of the unscrupulous—the just in
the power of the unjust. First, then,
as,to men. Taylor is a slave-holder by
bfrth and habit—Cass is a slaveholder
politically by calculation. Vi hick is the
better man l I say Taylor. How do
they stand committed? Taylor says
nothing upon the subject of Slavery,
but claims Washington as his model,
and declares in favor of the supremacy
of Congress. Cass holds that Congress
cannot legislate against the admission
of Slavery into new territories, and of
course must VETO any bill prohibiting
its introduction. As men, then, Taylor
is preferable to Cass: Now as to par
ties. Who will be most apt to stand for
Liberty, the Whigs or their opponents?
Let Texas speak ! Let the Mexican
War speak ! Let the ultras of the South
speak ! Let those who openly avow in
Convention, "all of Mexico and Cuba"
speak ! Again, suppose Lewis Cass
President and a bill comes up for the
admission of New Mexico into the Union
—or its cohstitution into a Territorial
Government—and a majority of Con
gress puts in the Wilmot Proviso, will
they stand out against the Executive
Veto and claim " Free Soil or no Soil 1"
Let the vote on Texas answer! Sup
pose Taylor President and such a bill
up, will not the whole Whig party of the
North and some large portion of the
South say " Free Soil or no Soil 1" Let
the past answer also. From Gen. Tay
lor's pledges, I believe that he could not
interfere by the Veto: for unless the law
is unconstitutional he could not inter
fere. But with all the acts of this C:ov-
ernment in favor of Slavery Restriction,
as ably set forth in the Utica Address,
with the lead of Washington and Jeffer
son, I think there is a moral certainty
that lie could not veto such a bill. But
suppose he did : would not the triumph
of the Whig party with its Free Soil
prestige be more likely to summon true
men enough to LOCK the wheels of pro
slavery action, than the same result
would be likely to occur under the party
who claim Texas as an " Extension of
the area of Freedom ?" Such at least are
my conclusions, honestly and maturely
arrived at. On "the question" of Sla
very, which to me is the mosTrital of
all, however much I may be denounced
for inconsistency,Taylor, the slave
holder, is in fi nitey preferable to Cass.
Simply as a member of a Republic, I in
other respects desire that the Constitu
tion should be restored—the faith of the
nation vindicated—its magnanimity and
honor re-established—its lead in the van
of nations regained. In our domestic
policy, I desire to see economy brought
back into the disbursement of taxes--
fidelity to public trust rewarded—par
tisan feeling moderated—industry and
improvement revived--in a word, I long
for a paternal instead of a destructive
ruler! That Zachary Taylor is the
man for the times I honestly believe.—
I trust you and the people will finally
also so conclude.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
• C. M. CLAY.
P. S. The-pledges made never again
to vote for n slaveholder I regard as
shortsighted. Why trammel ourselves
that the enemy may conquer us 1 The
only pledge, if indeed pledges are at all
useful in any case, should be faithfully
and honorably to carry out its ends.
C. M. C.
Gen. Houston and the Catholics.
The Hero of San Jacinto, on his jour
ney back to Washington from Carlisle,
stopped at Lancaster, on the 6th inst.,
and made a speech to the assembled
Cass men. The Lancaster Tribune
gives a very fair report of the entire pro
ceedings, and a sketch of the General's
remarks. After speaking at some length
in relation to Texas as she is, the Trib
une report claims to speak them as
follows :
"At length, changing his tune, he
proceeded to speak of their present con
dition as contrasted with that of the
past, and said that one great evil under
which they suffered before the revolu
tion was the Catholic Priesthood, who
were bigoted, intolerant and cruel—that
the circulation of the 131ble was prohib
ited—that there were no newspapers
printed in Texas, except one little one I
called a " Thumb-paper," that whenever
any person attempted to print or pub
lish one, the Priests would catch him
and send him over to the Rio Grande in
irons, to be tried by their fellow priests,
and perhaps to be burnt as heretics. So
intolerant and oppressive was the Priest- •
ridden government of Mexico, that a
man was not allowed to plant half a
dozen hills of potatoes unless he ob
tained the consent of the Alcade, who
was generally a Priest. This was the
substance of the language of Gen. Hoes-
TON-R great Democratic leader—who
incautiously spoke out sentiments which
he had no doubt hitherto studiously con
cealed, for the purpose of conciliating
the Catholics and obtaining their votes.
—We make no comments. If the Cath
olics who were thus abused "can stand
it— we can."
Thrilling Scene at Niagara.
A thrilling scene occurred at the sus
pension Bridge, at Niagara, on Monday
two weeks. Four men were passing
over the bridge when it was struck with
one of those sudden and strong gusts of
wind which frequently rush through the
chasm with the tremendious force of a
hurricane, and so twisted it as to turn
it bottom upwards. The men caught
in the wire, and in this position—sus
pended 200 feet above the resistless
waters beneath—they were enabled to
maintain themselves until the alarm
was given at the Falls, a mile and a
half distant and the whole population in
a body rushed to the rescue. The
bridge was returned to its former posi
tion, and the men saved. The affair
produced the most profound sensation
for a while.
"'TAINT LIKE !”-A certain lawyer
had his portrait taken in his favorite at
titude—standing with one hand in his
pocket. His friends and clients all went
to see it, and every body exclaimed—
. Oh, how like ! it is the very picture
of him!" An old farmer only dissent
ed. "'Taint like !" exclaimed every
body—" just show us wherein 't aint
like." "'Taint—no 't aint !" respond
ed the farmer. " Don't you see, lie has
got his hand in his own pocket 1 'T
would be as like again if he had it in
somebody else's."
HUNTINGDON, PA., TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1848,
[From the Boston Traveller.]
PRESENCE OF MIND LN CRIL-
DREN.
A more interesting case of true pres
ence of mind was seldom, if ever, re
corded than the following, which ac- -
curred some time ago, in one of the in
terior towns of Maine. A gentleman
who lived in a beautiful villa, a little re
tired from one of the charming villages
which everywhere adorn New England,
had gone, with several members of the
family, on Sabbath morning, to attend
worship in the villia,ge church, leaving
only three small children at home. The
oldest of them was a son of thirteen,
the second eleven, and the third a daugh
ter of nine. These children were con
sidered every way trusty by their pa
rents, who entertained no fears for the
safety of home during their absence at
church. The time of the little ones was
occupied with moral and interesting
books, as was common with them when
thus left at home, till towards noon they
thought they discovered symptoms of
' wood burning, and on ascending to the
head of the stairs found the whole up
per part of the house enveloped in smoke
and flame. On going out they saw the
fires bursting through the roof in every
I part, threatning destruction not only to
the house but to every thing in it.
There was now no time for delibera
tion. What was to be done must be
done instantly, and quick as thought
each child was at work, as if their sev
eral parts had been assigned them by
the wisdom of age, after mature deliber
ation.—The elder boy mounted a horse
and rode with all possible speed to the
village to obtain assistance there. At
the same time, and with a discretion far
in advance of their years, the younger
lad and his sister set about clearing the
house of such articles as their strength
was able to remove. In the first place
they secured their father's papers. Next
they contrived to remove an elegant
eight day brass clock of much value.
To accomplish this, they placed two
feather beds in front of it on the floor,
and throwing it over on its face drew it
out on one of the beds and bed clothes,
and next secured the contents of their
mother's wardrobe. Her china and
silver ware were then carefully put into
baskets and placed beyond the reach of
harm.
Thus they kept steadily but calmly
at work, removing articles, giving each
article priority, according to its value,
till they were relieved from their anxie
ty and toils, by the arrival of the family
and neighbors from the meeting, one or
two miles distant. Nearly all that was
done on this occasion was accomplished
by the cool demeanor and unflinching
perseverance of these two children, as,
when the people arrived, the fire had
extended to every room in the house,
and rendered access almost impossible.
Several times they risked their lives to
save articles which they thought would
be highly esteemed by their mother.
A POSER.
A calm, blue-eyed, self-composed and
self-possessed young lady in a village
" down east," received a long call the
other day from a prying old spinster,
who, after prolonging her stay even be
yond her own conception of the young
lady's endurance, came to the main
question that had brought her thither:
"I've been asked a good many times if
you was engaged to Dr. C—. Now
if folks enquire again whether you be
or not, what shall I tell them I think."—
"Tell them," answered the young lady,
fixing her calm blue eyes in unblushing
steadiness upon the inquisitive features
of her interrogates; " tell them that you
think you don't know, and that you are
sure it is none of your business."—
Knick.
OD.- Tho Worcester True Whig gives
the following anecdote, which sounds
like truth :
Soon after Cass was made Secretary
of War, Scott meeting Taylor said to
him, " Ah ! Taylor—a good appointment
that. We have a Secretary who knows
our wants." Taylor has two veins in
his forehead that, when he is excited,
swell out as large as a child's finger.—
These veins began to enlarge. "I don't
know that, General," said he, "he
knows his own wants. When he was
Governor of Michigan Territory, he or
dered me to send him twelve of my best
looking and tallest soldiers, and don't
you think the rascal kept six of 'em to
row his boat for two years, and they
were paid by the government as my
men."
Doctor," said a gentleman who
was notorious'for laziness in general,
and slovenliness of person in particular,
I have tried everything for the rheu
matism, and without the least avail."—
The doctor, having surveyed him for a
moment, inquired if he had ever tried a
clean shirt
lEniployment better than Scolding.
Great unkindness and injustice is oft
en done to little children, by treating
them as mischievous, and scolding them
for being troublesome—when the truth
is, the little creatures are either weary
for want of employment, or else the love
of knowledge, or curiosity, has induced
them to examine the inside of something
they ought not to have meddled with:
Find something to occupy them—work
such as they can do, or innocent amuse
ment—and they will not trouble you
with mischieveousness.
It has been said, the mind of a child
is as active as that of a statesman. This
must be acknowledged, since it is ad
mitted that a child learns more the first
two years of its life than in any six
subsequent ones. And only think what
the little creatures have to acquire.
They have to learn a language—and one
Might almost say two, if we take into
the account the unintelligtble jargon
which some use when talking to infant
children. Then they have to learn the
use of every thing around them, and the
various characters of the persons they
meet with.
A father tells us, while he was work
ing in his garden his little son was very
desirous to help him ; the hoe, the shov
el, and rake were each in turn put into
requisition, and, as might be expected,
he did more harm than good ; and the
father was under the necessity of arrest
ing him several times by saying
Little boy, you must not do that ; you
must not do so." At length the little
fellow said ; Well, what MAY I do 1"
Do Not Covet thy Neighcors Cattle.
Dr C., who by the way, is " some" at
a story, told us the following :
Mr. T. atid Mr. W. were farmers, liv
ing very remote from our peninsular
city. One (Mr. T.) had a very fine
white faced heifer of a choice breed, on
which he counted a first rate cow, and
which no small sum would tempt him
to sell.
One day she broke into the premises
of his neighbor, who goes and paints
her•fdee:- Irvine search for her, T. come
down and inqttires of W. if he had seen
his heifer, and he replies that there is
a fine fat one in his pasture, and lie
made no doubt that it was his, and
would assist in turning her out.—When
they found her, T. declared she could
not be his, for his had a white face, but
there wasn't hardly any other difference
altho' unwilling to acknowledge that
any body else could have another as
" likely" as his he said he didn't think
she was quite so large or so well built;
but, ah, isn't she fat 1
As 'i"s "conscienciousness" never
had been marked above seven by any
phrenologist, and W. having a suspi
cion that he loved beef, he thought he
would try him. Accordingly he propo
sed to him in a whisper, which betoken
ed that he meant what lie said, that he
should butcher her, send him half the
beef, and that he have the hide for
slaughtering. If he would do so lie
should never mention it.
To this T. readily assented. He droVe
her home, slaughtered her, sent half the
beef according to agreement.
The next morning, rising early after
a smart rain, which had taken the paint
off, he went to take the hide from the
fence where he had left it, to put it out
of sight; and made the astounding dis
covery that somebody had been the death
of his own highly valued heifer, and he
had given half of it away to have the se
cret kept.—Portland Transcript.
An Affecting Incident:
The Pittsburg Journal, in noticing the
arrival of the troops there from Mexico,
sayst—As the volunteers were march
ing up the wharf, after disembarcation,
a young, gallant looking soldier, hap
pened to catch sight of a young woman
at the same moment she saw him. She
was quite pretty, very neatly dressed,
and had a very bright little baby in her
arms. The young woman uttered a
short joyful cry as she saw the soldier.
Away went the musket, and darting
from his 'place in the ranks, the brave
fellow caught his wife and child in his
arms. To us, this was one of the most
touching occurrences of the day, so
fruitful in touching scenes.
Great Place for Marrying.
The publisher of the Lowell Offering
states in the nuinher for this month, that
in ono mill, during the past eighteen
years, eighty-two of the " boys," and
four hundred and five " girls," employ
ed there, have been married ; and from
another mill one hundred and eighty
seven girls have been married during
five years ; and from a single room in
another corporation twenty eight were
married in one year.
r - A schoolmaster said, "young
gentlemen, if you will all be silent we
shall know who makes the noise."
47 ourliaL
[For the Journal.]
Influence of Novels.
" Novel Reading !" exclaims some (of
course fair) one, "here comes another
tirade against this innocent amusement,
this profitable employment ! Now for
a long rigmarole about " sickly senti
ment," " fictitious taste," " corruption
of morals," "disordered mental Fiction,"
unballanced mind," " all immagina
tion no soundness of Intellect," " arti
ficial society," "moonbeani-sauce ; " &c.,
&c. No matter I will read novels, so I
will. 'though indeed poor conscience
.(rather feeble!) does tacitly acknowl
edge these are some of the legitimate
fruits of my innocent amusement. But
smotheration to the upbraidings of Con
science; the little scorpion. Hand me
" Doinby & Soli" or "Jane Eyre." June
is one of them,
and la ! " Domby & Son"
is a daughter !" Ha, ha, sweet condi
ments to cram an empty thiad;"
Yes; most excellent to; an empty mind !
Read oil just for spite. You will only
injure every body else but yourself.—
And besides, leaky minds; like sieves,
that wont hold solids, will catch the
chaff. So throw in the showy, airy,
brilliant piles of chaff. That will at
least reflect the brightness of another;
What is the use of originality I—dr
soundness!
But enough of this. We might phi
losophize, and probe as a general prop
osition, that every Novel leaVes an im
perishable, evil influence upon every
mind and every community with which
it comes in contact. But for the pres
ent we will merely give some sketches
showing the effects, or results of Novel
Reading, some scenes from real (rather
artificial 1) life. For now instead of
Novels being sketches from Real Life,
Real Life is a sketch from Novels. The
Mr. and Miss must mould themselves,
mind, body and garments, to suit the
latest style in the Beau Moude where
Fiction and Fashion, twin- Goddesses,
sway their fickle sceptre. Take for
example a village down East. And see
if conversation, habits, feelings, actions,
—all, are not tinged with the fine effects
of Novel Reading. Poor human heart,
fount of such nameless, numberless
streams of evil, how easily duped, tap
ped and drawn ! In that village a few
(perhaps all) of the Fair' having, as I
they discover, some claims for Beauty,
(at least one or two features) lay hold
upon a false sentiment uttered, and
acted upon, by one of Miss Landon's He
wines, viz : that Beauty when proper
ly managed is woman's power." And
this they make the •' divinity which
shapes their ends." They remember
the glowing, enchanting, (sickening,)
descriptions of personal beauty with
which every Novel begins, continues
and terminates. And then what mana
ging !—the eyes, the mouth, the form,
the smile, the touch, the voice ! So
much for generals ; at present we will
not particularize the hobbies of each,
though every Fair has her Hobby. She
selects her models from her Novels.—
(Unconsciously.)
On the other hand, some gallant re
members the magic influence of La
flout's' eye as painted by Bulwer ; and
then to shame ye eagles and ye dying
calves,—your orbs not half so penetra
ting or melting ! Another youth as he
peruses "Charles O'Malley" is enchan
ted with the sweet yet devilish Frank
tVebber and henceforth his hot ambi
tion dictates, and his will endeavors, to
accomplish a miserable imitation of that
Protean character. Another of lower
ambition makes Don Juan his beau
ideal' and then conforms to his pattern.
Another will strive to act the part of a
'Jack Sheperd' or a Nini Moulin' tin
der cover of night and with a certain
set of companions and then if possible
put on the character of Morley Ernes
den' or Gabriel' in the day time and
with a better class of society. This
also unconsciously sometimes.
Next mark the conversation, and you
find it full of Fashion, Flowers, Love,
Last Novels, Fortunes, Good Looks,
Flirtations, &c., &c.
. . . .
But above all to keep pace with the
World of Letters i. e. Novels, there
must be in every village an old Hag as
insinuating as ugly, to carry on the
amours of the town—a go between' to
whisper from car to ear—to flatter anti
to frighten, to carry on and adjust love
scrinnages, disturb the peace of families,
tip her tongue with gall or honey to suit
shifting circumstances, &c. It is also
to be expected that some gallants who
have spent a life of the lowest kind and
squandered nearly all their 'little world
ly goods' will make vows and by wa
gers to gain the affections of some un•
suspecting damsel of moral and metal
worth and thus by honourable means
secure many more years of pleasure and
dissipation, having gained a handsome
property and restored their sinking
finances. At least many Novels describe
, such successful manouvres and swains
VOL, XIII, NO, 32.
are (Vela itidtigh Ui telie'o . e they can re;
alize their Butopian schemes. So tnuch
for Real Life without furl her moralizing.
So much for Novels. By their fruits ye
shall know them.
Young Men, Beware,
Mr. Potter, of Yale College, in a tem:
perance addresp, lately, at New Haven,
says: "My heart bleeds as I remember
the 'fate of three of my early compan
ions, who started in life with myself.— ,
One of them possessed the finest math;
ematical mind I ever knew. He would
take the ledger and go up with three
columns at a time, with perfect ease.—
He was the first marl in America that
beat the Automaton Chess Player, and
lie told me that he had etery move in
his head before he entered the room.—
That man now fills a drutikard's grave.
Another, who was an excellent account
ant, and could coirinfarid alniost any
salary, met the same Melancholy
Another, possessing the same brilliant
qualities, has gone down—not to the
grave, perhaps, but he is sunk clear out
of sight, amid the mire and filth of in
temperance.—Hartford Courant.
The Common Lot.
May we not read our own history in
every leaf and every flower'? Are dot
our days " like a shadow that declined 1"
We are happy beneath the summer sun
of youth;
health and strength, and re
flect but little on the autumn scenes of
life when those blessings will fast t€
cede from our embrace. And yet hoi+
surely will the " sear and yellow leaf"
steal its curtain o'er the summer scene;
and the winter of life come on when we
too, shall lie fading in the dust. Hap
pily, there is a spring for us beyond
the grave. So true it is—
An angels arm' can't keep us froin the grave;
Legions of angels cant confine us there."
Nothing like Reciprocity.
An unsophisticated joker was fishing
one day in the muddy waters of the
eastern portion of the Pennsylvania ca
nal, when to his great surprise he got a
savage bite. He immediately gave his
line a jerk that would have brought a
shark, when lo!—and behold, he pulled
out a huge snapping turtle and threw it
flat on the tow-path. He stood in
amazement gazing upon the singular
"beast," when by and by, an Irishman
came along, followed by a large dog.
The countryman tried by gentle worde
to get the son of Erin to put his finger
into the turtles mouth, but paddy was
too smart for that, but, says he, "I'll put
the dog's tail in,.and see what the hloodp
baste will do."
He immediately called up his dog,
took his tail into his hand, elhd stutk
in the turtles mouth. He had hartily
got it in, when Mr. Turtle shut down
upon the poor dog's tail, and off he star
ted at railroad speed. pulling it after
him at st more rapid rate than ever it
traielled before: The ccitintrytrteri thihk
log his day's work would be thrown
away ii the animal should run long at
that rate, turned with a savage look
upon the laughing Irishman, and ex
claimed. 4‘ Call back your dog! call
back your dug !"
Paddy put his hatid into his pocket:
threw his head to one side, ivitiked and
then answered with provoking sang
froid, " Be Jabers ! call back your fish."
Wetting Bricks;
Few people, except builders, are award
of the advantage of wetting bricks be.
fore laying them. A wall 12 inches
thick, built up of good mortar, with
bricks well soaked, is stronger in every
respect, than one 16 inches thick, built
dry. The reason of this is, that if the
bricks are saturated ;vith water, they
will not abstract from the mortar, the
moisture which is necessary to its
chrystalization, and on the contrary ;
they will unite chemically with the mor
tar, and become as solid as rock. On
the other hand, if the [nicks are pia up
dry, they immediately take all the mois
ture front the mortar, leaving it too dry
to harden, and the consequence is, that
when a building of this description is
taken down, or tumbles down of its own
accord, the mortar falls from it like
sand.—X. Y. Sun.
We learn from a builder in this city
that the above will apply only to N. Y.
brick, which are more porous, and ab
sorb much more moisture than bricks
made iu this vicinity. He says, that,
should our bricks be soaked before lay
ing, it would make a pelect liquid of the
mortar, and rnn over all those which
had been laid.—Boston Cultivator.
A lawyer in one of our courts
commenced a defence as follows—" May
it please your honor, the Deluge has
passed over the earth—the Ark has res.
ted upon the mountain, and the Rain
bow of Justice shines as beautifully en
my colored client as it does upon any in
the court, including tihe Jury."