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ni/t)otqb-on
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BY JAS, CLARK,
The Days of Childhood.
A SONG..-BY C. D. STEWART.
The pleasant days of Childhood,
How swiftly have they flown,
Like young flowers in the wildwcod,
When Autumn's winds have blown;
They're gone, they're gone forever,
They will no more rertirn
Though Memory holds them in the heart
Like aahes in the umn.
The happy days of Childhood,
When innocence and glee
With gentle fingers turned the heart
To music wild and free;
They're gone, they're gone forever,
Like rivers to the main,
Their dancing waves of joy and mirth
Will ne'er return again.
The holy days of Childhood,
'Ere evil thoughts came near,
When in the heart no sin was found,
And on the check no tear ;
They're gone, they're gone forever,
Like font-prints on the shore,
Washed out by Time's relentless waves,
They will return no more.
The pleasant, holy, happy days,
Life's only blossom time,
Where are your buds which promise gave
Of flowers in Summer's prime 7
Though gone, though gone forever,
Ye haunt the heart and brain,
And Memory keeps ye to annoint
Life's after years of pain.
BIBLE PRESENTATION TO GEN
TAILOR.
At the Presbyterian Ladies' Fair at
Frankfort, Ky,, on the 14th ultimo, Gen.
Taylor being present by invitation, w•as
presented with a magnificent copy of
the Bible, and the Constitution of the
United States in the same volume.
Rev. Mr. Robinson, on presenting the
volume made the-following remarks:
Gen. Taylor : I am requested by the
ladies of my charge, to present to you
this noble specimen of American nrt—
n volume containing the Bible•and the
Constitution of the United States.
It is intended as a slight token of their
reverence for a man in whose life they
trace many resemblances to the Heroes
of Sacred History, wham God , called,
unwilling, from modest privacy, to un - -
sought honors, and to be a nation,s ben
efactor. It is a token, also, of their af
fection for the Chieftain who led their
sons and
are
to the fi eld of glory.
They are willing to confess, sir, that
the taste which selected such n token
for a public man, may savor a little of
the Puritanism of their great ancestry
yet they are sure, that in many aspects,
this is n gift, not more appropriate to be
given by them, than to be received by
one who holds your position before the
world.
The Bible and the Constitution ! It
is our religion and our polities, and,
therefore a fit offering, from American
people, to an elect American President.
The Bible and the Constitution ! What
nobler gift to a statesman, than the
Constitution of Heaven and the Consti
tution of the greatest nation which Hea
ven has wit upon the earth !
The Bible and the Constitution ! It is
no incongruous union. It is but the Sa
cred Text with its best political com
mentary. Had the Bible not been rec
ognized, there could have been no Con
stitution. It was only minds imbued
with the principles of the one, which
could have conceived of, and it'orked out
the great problem which is solved in the
other.
he Bible and the Constitution!—
Surely worthy to be the symbol borne
before one who is going to take the
Chair of Washington, and under a vow
to make Washington his model, and the
Constitution his only rule of political
action.
Sir, the prayers to Heaven, in your
behalf, of those whom I represent, and
of all the wise and gond in our country,
will be fully answered, ,if controlled by
the holy precCpts of this Book, and
thereby enabled to rule, alike unawed
.by fear and unallttred by flattery, your
administration end us auspiciously as it
is to begin ; and if then, when the toils
and honors of life are closing, support
ed by its Holy consolation, you shall
•die as peacefully as you have lived glo
riously.
To which Gen. Taylor responded :
I accept with gratitude and pleasure
your gift of this inestimable volume.—
It was for the love of the truths of this
great and good Book that our fathers
abandoned their native shores, for the
wilderness. Animated by its lofty prim
cipies, they toiled and suffered till the
desert blossomed as the rose. These
same truths sustained them in their res
olution to become a free nation. And
guided by the wisdom of this Book, they
founded a government under which we
have grown from three millions to more
than twenty millions of people,' and
from being but as a stock on the borders
of this continent, we have spread from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. I trust that
their 'principles of liberty may extend,
if without bloodshed, front the northern
to the southern extremities of the con
tinent.
If there were in that Book nothing
but its great precept : "All things what
soever ye would that men should do
untp you, do you even so to them,"' and
that precept were obeyed, our govern
ment might extend over the whole con
tinent.
Accept, sir, my sincere thanks for
the kind manner in which you have dis
charged this duty, and expressing again
my. sincerest thanks to the ladies for
their beautiful gift--I pray that health,
peace and prosperity may long be con•.
tinned to them.
Meeting between Gen. Taylor and
Gen. Cass.
WASpINGTON, Mardi 1, 184.9
Gen. Cass paid Generl Taylor a visit
to-day about noon. The meeting cf
these distinguished gentlemen_ was of
the most agreeable and happy character.
We will endeavor to give a description
of it.
General Cass, accompanied by Sena
tor Fitzgerald, came into the office of
the hotel and inquired of our friend
Willard if Gen. Taylor was receiving
company. Ile was told he was, and
asked to walk up to his apartments,
which he accordingly did. Gen. Tay
lor nt the moment, was seated, speaking
to a gentleman, and did not at firstsper
ceive Gen. Cruks's entrance. Upon turn
ing round, Ice at once recognised him,
and coming forward, grasped his visit
or's hand in both his own, and shook it
most cordially, Gen. Cass apparently be
ing egnally friendly.
Gen. TA MOR-Ah, General, how do
you do Z lam very glad, indeed to sec
• .
Gun. Cass (who, it appears, did not
know the President elect by sight.)—
Thank you General, 1 am very glad to
I see you. (shaking hands all the time)
By the way General, you had the ad
vantage of me (alluding to his recogni
zing him first) That's twice you've
had the advantage of the ! (This was
said with great drollery, and caused the
LGeneral and every one present to laugh
heartily.)
GEN. TAYLOR—Yes, that's true; but
you know the battle's not always to the
strong, ch 1
Gen. Cass—That's a fact. (Laughter.)
How do you feel sir 1
Gen. TAYLOR—WeII, pretty well,
' thank you, except that I have two or
three ribs stove in, that's alt; I sup
pose that's merely a circumstance, how
ever. (This evidently unintentional
hit caused the most immoderate laugh
. ter, in which Senator Cass joined as
heartily as any one. When he could
get his face straight, he continued the
conversation.) . _ _
Gen. Cass—Ah, indeed ; lam very
sort, to hear it, where did it happen
Gen. TAYLOR—At Madison. You see
the Indianians felt a little sore about
one of my reports, and asked me to pay
them a visit. Of course I complied, to
show I had no feeling against them.
Well, I got on board of a small boat at
Madison, to go to Frankfort, and just
as she was about to start, I stepped out
of the saloon, which was brilliantly
lighted up, to speak to a friend. It ap
pears a large black trunk had been pla
ced in the passage, and, in the transi
tion from the glare of the saloon, I did
not perceive it, and the first thing I
knew, I thought both my legs, my arms
and all my ribs were stove in. (Laugh
ter) I'm nearly well now however.
Gen. Cass—l am very glad you are
indeed. General allow me to introduce
my friend, Mr. Fitzgerald, of the Sen.
ate.
G en. TaitLoa— (shah ing hands)—How
do you do sir very glad to see you. I
think I have had some correspondence
with yo+► before
Mr. FITZGERALD assented.
Gen CAss—l will do myself the plea.
sure of calling on you again, General.
Good morning.
Gcn: i AYLOR-DO call again, and oft
en ; I shall always be happy to see you.
Here they both shook .hands
and Gen. Cass retired.
In the passage a gentleman met Gem
Cass and remarked—
Well, General, in all the Stateswhere
I stumped it, you got the vote.
Gen. CAss (laughing)—Well, my
friend lam very much obliged to you
—but, I wish you had stumped it in two
or three more 1
In the sketch which we have given of
the meeting of the President elect and
his unsuccessful competitor, we are
aware we have failed in giving an ade
quate idea of the scene. It was the
manner, more than the words, which
pleased every one. Gen. Taylor if not
a sincere man, must be a finished diplo
matist, and we do not think he has ever
been accused of possessing that accom
plishment.--.N. Y. Herald.
flours of Sleep.
:nature require, five,
Custoin'aives seven ;
Laziness take. nine,
And Wickedness eleven
HUNTINGDON, PA,, TUESDAY,' MARCH 13, 1849
A ?dart:Laicld Anecdote.
These marshes, hundreds of acres of
which belong to Mr. Webster, are re
nowned for being the resort of the sari
o.is wild fowl that delight in marsh
bottoms; so much so, that many sports
men go all the way from Boston, some
twenty-eight or thirty miles, for the
express purpose of shooting.
A laughable occurrence took place
there one dny which would have been a
rich scene for Louis Philipp's pointer.
A couple of young bucks from the city,
whose chief business it was to kill tine
by killing game, or anything else that
crime in their way, took a trip one fine
Summer's dny to the Marshfield marsh
es, to shoot snipes, dull care, &c. In
their eager pursuit of game, they nn
consciously become surrounded; by the
noiseless tide on a little island. What
to do they knew not, being merely am
ateur sportsmen and not dressed of
course for business, with their dandy
broirands, Ste. on—when, as hick, who'
sometimes fortunately for such, supplied
the place of brains, would have it, a
stout, rohilstions individual, _some six
feet high or more, hove in sight. The
new comer was evidently a sportsman
like themselves, only more so--4mt, un
like them, had a form as well as address
thnt meant something.—He was clad in
coarse habiliments; with slouched hat,
and all the accoutrements befitting his
occonation ; and when his manly strides
had brought him within hailing distance
of the two bucks, sonic forty years his
juniors, they began most lustily to call
upon him to help them from their isola
ted condition ; which they no doubt con
sidered " dem'd awkward."
" Hulloa, old daddy," said one "give
ns a lift will ye, on those brawny shoul
ders of yourn, and put us on yen con
tinent, from whence we incontinently
came hither in our excessive zeal for
the demnation foine birds." "Oh cer
tainly," exclaimed the hero of the blous
and hat, and boldly stepped into the
creek, and one by one,
even as Emus
did his father the old Anchises on his
shoulders bear, bore them to the main
land once more, on arriving at which,
they assnred their kind bearer that he
was " devlish clever," and should not go
unrewarded—and suiting the action to
' the word, slipped a "quarter" into his
hnnd, with an air that seemed to say ,
" There, fellow, take that and be happy."
But much to their surprise the " fellow"
utterly refused it, whereupon the dun.
dies began to fumble their pockets for
more change, but the hunter of the moors
resolutely refused all compensation.
" Well then," says one of them, " let
us know, my foine fellew, who to.thanlcl"
" My name is Daniel Webster," said he.
I'll venture to say they immediately
felt called upon to make for the interior
of the " continent." Webster himself
was amply repaid for all his trouble by
the pleasure he has enjoyed in relating
the adventure to his friends.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF TUE UNI
TED STATEs.—According to the last re
port of the Patent Office, the sum total
of the agricultural products of the Uni
ted States for 1848 are stated as follows
Bushels of wheat, 126,364,600; bush
els of barley, 6,220,050 ; bushels of , oats,
185,500,000; bushels of rye, 32,952,500
bushels of buckwheat, 12,538,000; bush
els of Indian corn, 588,' 50,000; bush
els of potatoes,• 114,475,000; tons of
hay, 15,735,000; tons of hemp, 20,330;
rolls of tobacco, 218,909,000; pounds
of cotton,
1,066,000,000; pounds of
rice, 119,. 99,500 ; pounds of sugar,
200,000,000. The largest quantity of
wheat was raised by Ohio : bushels 20,-
000,000, largest quantity of barley by
New York, bushels 4,300,000; lamest
quantity of oats by Ohio, bushels 30,-
000,000; largest quantity of rye by
Pennsylvania, bushels 13,500,000; lar
gest quantity of bucktirheat by Penn
sylvania, 3,800,000 ; largest quantity of
Indian corn by. Tennessee, bushels, 76,-
300,000; largest quantity of potatoes
by New York, bushels . 27,000,000 ; lar
gest quantity of hny by same State;
tons 4,200,000; in tobacco Kentucky
took the lend, having raised rolls there
of 68,000,000; cotton Mississippi, lbs.
245,000,000; rice South Carolina, lbs.
90,000,000, sugar Louisiana, lbs. 200,-
000,000.
[ Dan Marble tells a story about a
Yankee tailor, who was dunning a man
for the amount of his bill. The man
said "he was sorry, very sorry, very
sorry indeed that he could'nt pay it."
" Well," said the other, " I took yoil
for a man that would be sorry, but if
you are sorrier than I am, then I'll
quit."
lry- A young woman in a town in
Massachusetts, thus addressed a young
man John, you have been paying
your distresses to me long enough. I
want to know what your contentions are,
I don't moan to be kept in expense any
longer."
Übe of Straw and Litter on Grass
Lands.
"Some experiments have been made
in Cornwall, with top-dressing land
with straw, which I refer to, us at least'
highly curious; and which 'deserves no
tice, as possible to lead to most impOr
tent practical results. They rest upon
highly respectable authority. The sub
ject has been frequently referred to in
the public papers, beta detailed state
ment has been given by the Secretary
of the Cornwall Experimental Club and
published in a late Journal of the Roy
al Agricultural Society, from which I
shall abridge the account.
Fibrous Covering, or Gurneyism.—
Mr. G. Gurney observed that, " if a bush
or . other fibrous matter were left lying
in a field of grass, the vegetable beneath
it would soon be observed to be finer or
fresher than that around it. This was
a fact known to every one, but the al.-fen
cy by which this increase of growth
was brought about, evidently involving
some great and important but unknown
principle, bad never been trivestigated.
Flags, rushes, straw, bushes, or in short,
any fibrous coveting, would produce a
similar alio. Reeds, or wheaten straw
applied over grass, at the rate of about
a load to a load and a half per acre,
would, in a short time, increase the
quantity of grass to art incredible ex
tent. The various grasses under it
would be found to be healthy, anti rap
passing through the stages of ma ,
turity, some growing, 'some flowering,
some seeding, Part
.of a field of grass
placed under this operation for one
mouth had increased in weight, over the
remaining portion left uncovered, at the'
Irate of nearly three to one. The green
grass from the part untouched, cut at
the end of the month, weighed two thou
' sand two hundred and seven pounds per
nere; that of the portion placed under
the operation weighed five thousand
eight, hundred and severity pounds per
acre. The grass . was weighed as it
came from the scythe. During this pe
riod
there was not a drop of rain ; and
guano, nitrate of soda, lime, shell-sand,
wood-ashes, and other manures, tried
against it, possibly from the drought,
produced, during this period, no very
visible action. In this experiment, the
fibrous covering was laid on the 15th of
April. and the grass cut and weighed
the 30th of May. Half of a hayfield
was covered on the 2d of May ; sud a
month after, I had cut and weighed, re
spectively, the portions of the field cov
ered and uncovered, and found that the
one weighed three thousand four hun
dred and sixty. pounds per acre, whilst
the other weighed only nine hundred
and seventy pounds. As to the length
of the grasses in the respective pieces,
the trefoil in one case measured three
and one-half inches, whilst in the other
it only measured an inch ; cfover six
inches, in the other one and one-half."
He found, me malting the two samples
of grass.into hay, that the proportionate
loss of weight was the same in each
parcel, and the difference would be, that
in the one case he should get ahree tons
to an acre, and in the other only
Another most important circumstance
in the case was, that when "a certain
quantity of stall dung would double the
quantity of grass in a given time, when
laid •on•in the usual way, that it would
increase it six times, when properly
treated with fibrous aoyering."
I These are certainly very curious ex
' pernnents, and they have been repeated
successfully by various
" For an individual. to satisfy himself, a
bundle of 'straw, say forty pounds, strew
ed lightly over two or three rods of grow
ing grass, would in . a very 411 time
show the effect when raked off. In the
experiments made, nll gave Uniform re
sults, when conducted • fairly. Some
used too much covering, but generally
too little. All these experiments show
ed that the action was general ; that the
difference in increase of growth, in a
given time, was in proportion to the nat
ural fertility of the soil."
"The practical instructions for the
use of fibrous covering are few, but es-
seetial to profitable results. Straw of
wheat, oats, or rushes, is to be lightly
and evenly laid over grass, in the por
tion of about a ton to a ton and a half
per acre. At the end of a fortnight it
must be raked up in heaps like hay-.
cocks, the grass eaten off by cattle, and
the covering again relaid. This is ne
cessary in the growing season, other
wise the herbage will grow through, by
which the action will cease; the grass
will also become entangled with the
covering. If the land is good, the grass
may generally be eaten off by cattle be
fore the covering is relaid ; if not at the
end of the next fortnight, (more or less
depending on the richness of the land,
the season, and the weather,) it sheuld
be done, and the covering relaid again ;
and repeated at about these periods
through the season. If straw be the
ta
, - 3
f 4
\
material used, it will last through the
whole slimmer. In the autumn it is the
practice to rake it off when dry, carry
it away, andlstack it for winter litter.—
Ground under the action of fibrors cov
ering, we find from our returns, will keep
three times the quantity of cattle as
ground not so trented. This experience
seems in keeping with our experiments
on weight and measure, of the produce
thus obtained."
Importance of a Happy. Homes
The main endeavor of those who de
sire their children's spiritual welfare,
should be to provide them with a happy
house. It is vain to expect that young
persons can be brought to love what is
not amiable in itself. If religion be pre
sented to them disfigured and deformed,
us it often is, how can it be imagined
that they will prefer it to the smiles and
blandishments of the world'? If, at each
return of the family circle, they are met
with moping melancholy, and dismal
looks—if fireside squabbles, and petty
provocations—if a constant wear and
tear of rudeness, unkindness and affronts
which make up in multitude what that•
want in magnitude--if this be the task
prepared to satisfy the ardent longings
of the youthful soul for pleasure,_ no
wonder that it should fly to forbidden
paths, and take refuge wherever it can,
from so comfortless and int lerlble a
scene.
It was not of a cheerless home like
this, that the prodigal bethought to him
self, when he said E "How many hired
servants of my father have bread enough
arid to spare, and I perish with hunger."
It was the remembrance of a father's
house that haunted him in his exile, and
followed him through all the stages of
his misery ; it was the image of home
drawn upon his heart, and wrought into
the texture of his soul ; it was the mag
ic influence of that thought, the rising
of that solitary star in the darkness of
the hour of his extremity—it was this
which struck out of the last spark of hie
,vithin him, which converted memory
into hope, and hope into the great and
endless comfort of spirits who have
wandered from God--" I will-arise" and
go to'my lather," evc. Rut it was more
immediately to our point to observe,
that it was the sweet attractions of
home, and blessing of such a father, as
presided over it, which kept the elder
son from ever seeking amid the dangers
of the world, that repose which he found
in the bosom of a happy fancily.—Rev.
H. Woodward.
Questions !Well Answered.
A sophist, wishing to puzzle Thule,,
one of the wise - men of Greece, propo
sed to hint in a rapid succession the fol
lowing questions. The ph:losopher re
plied to them all, without the least hesi
tation, and with how much propriety
and precision our readers can judge for
themselves.
• What is the oldest of things ?
God—because he always existed.
What is the most beautiful
The world—because it is the work of
God:
What is the greatest of all things'?
Space—because it contains all that is
created.
What is the quickest of all thingsl
Thought—because in a moment it
can fly to the end of the universe.
What is the strongest 1
Necessity—because it makes men face
all dangeie of life.
. _
Whil s t' is the most difficult'?
To know thyself.
What is the most constant of all
things
Hope—because it still remains in man
after he has lost every thing elsel
SCOTT ANI , WELusoroN.—The London cor
respondent of the New York Morning. Star,
says:
"I was lately in a company at a fash
ionable party, at the west end of the
town, when the subject of the Ameri
can army in connection with Mexico,
was broached , and I can assure yon
that ample justice was done American
prowess. It was asserted by a leading
member of government, that the Duke
of Wellington thought Geri. Scott the
greatest military genius of the day, and
the Duke it is well known, is any thing
but a flatterer."
EXPRESSIVE.—The following private
letter from a young officer in the army,.
who went throtigh all the battles of
Icxico, from Vora Cruz to the capital,
and who was incessantly engaged in
them by day and night, furnishes a gra
phie description of tilt. , difficulties of
crossing the Isthmus : _
" My - Dear G :-1 have just arrived at
Panama. I thought I "saw the elephant"
in Mexico, but he wasn't there. He
lives here. Your's affectionately."
I never yet found pride in a noblefia
ture, nor humility in an unworthy
friend.
VOL, XIV, NO, 9
ICEMAN PROGRESS IN ENGLAND.
Macaulay's descriptions of English
life and manners two centuries ago,
show that with all thillleviis which ant
ascribed to the civilization of the pres
ent day, a great aggregate improvement
has taken place. There is no species
of progress more auspicious of happy
results than that which denotes an in
crease of human feeling end proves that
men are becoming more considerate of
one another. The following sketch is
no less instructive than it is graphically
drawn :--
"Still more important is the benefit
which all orders of society, and espe
cially the lower orders, have derived
from the modifying influence of civili
zation on the natural character. The
ground work of that character has in
deed been the same through many gen
erations, in the sense in which the
ground work of the character . Of an in
dividual may be said to be the same,
when he is a rude, a thoughtless school
boy, and when lie is a refined end ac
complished man. It is pleasing to re
flect that the public mind of England
has softened while it has ripened, and
that we have, in the course of ages, be
come not only a wiser, but also a kinder
people. There is scarcely a page of the
history of the lighter literature of the
17th century, which does not contain
some proof that our ancestors were less
humane than their posterity. The dis
cipline of workshops, of schools, of pri
vate families, though not more efficient
than at present, was infinitely harsher.
Masters, well-born and bred, were in the
habit of beating their servants. Peda
gogues knew no way of imparting
knowledge but by beating their pupils.
Husbands, .of, decent station s were not
ashamed to bent their wives. The im
placability of hostile factions was such
ns we can hardly conceive. Whigs were
disposed to murmur, because Stafford
was suffered to die without seeing his
bowels burned before his face. As lit ,
de. mercy was , shown by tl e populace
to sufferers of an humbler rank. If an
offender was put into the pillory, it was
well if he escaped with life frotn the
shower of brick bats and paving stones.
If he was tied to the cart's tail, the crowd
pressed round him, imploring the hang
man to giVe it to the fellow well, mid
make him bowl. Gentlemen arranged
• parties of pleasure to Bridewejl on court
days, for the purpose of seeing the wo
men who beat hemp there, whipped.—
A man pressed to death for refusing to
plead, a woman burned for coining, ex
cited less sympathy than is now felt for
• a gallant horse or an over-driven ox.—
Fights, compared with which n boxing
match is a refined and humane specta
cle, were among the favorite diversions
of a large part of the town. Multitudes
assembled to see gladiators hack each
• other to pieces with deadly weapons,
and shouted when one of the combat
' ants lost a finger or an eye. The pris
ms were bells on earth, seminaries of
every crime and of every disease, At
the assizes, the lean and yelfoW culprits
brought with them from their cells to
the dock an atmosphere of stench and
pestilence, which sometimes avenged
' them signally on bench, bar, and jury.
But on all this misery society looked
with profound indifference. Nowhere
mould be found that sensitive and rest.
less compassion which has, in our time,
extended a powerful protection to the
factory child, to the Hindow widow, to
the negro slave, which pries into the
stores and water casks of every emi
grant ship, which winces at every lash
laid on the back of a 411rd:en soldier, -
which xvill not suffer the thief in the
hulks to be ill-fed or over-worked, and
which has repeatedly endeavored to
save the life even of the murderer.
"It is true that compassion„like all
other feelings, ought to he under the
government of reason, and has, for want
of such government pro lured some ri
diculous and some deplorable effects.—
But the more we study the annals of
the past, the more shall we rejoice that
we live in a merCiftd age, in an age in
which cruelty is abhorred, and in which
pain, even when deserved, is ,inflicted
reluctantly and from a sense of duty.
Every class, doubtless, has gained large
ly by this great moral change, but the
class which has gained most is the poor
est, the dependent, and the most de
fenceless.
Witere is Gbdi
A Bishop once said to the rottig tie
Chnteuneof, "it yOu will tell to where
God is, I will give you an orange."—
"If you will tell me where heir. not, 1
will give you two," was the child's an
saver. The poet beautifully answers the
question—" Where is God-1"
t 4 Iu the sue, thr ninon, thr sky.
On the tiountein"tvilitand high
In the thunder, In the rein,
In the grove, the %rood; the plain
In thp little 4irds that sing:
evrrvt;iiiz.”