VOLUME I.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1875,
NUMBER 50.
For the Orphaiifi’ Friend.
Dear Children :—In the sum
mer of 18G3 I traveled through a
portion of Virginia,over the South-
side road from Petersburg to
Lynchburg, then to Fincastle,
where I hired a carriage to con
vey my friend and self through
the grand mountainous eouritry
to the Natural Stone Bridge,
Lexington and Hock Bridge Alum
Springs. We arrived at Lexing
ton the day Stonewall Jackson
■was buried; and you may be
sure gloom oversproad every hill
and dale, for the lion of truth had
been laid lo'w.
Whilst sojourning at Fincastle
I drove with a lady of equal
courage, in a jersey wagon, down
a deep, deep valley, to visit a
pottery. Can you imagine what
induced the drive I I will tell
you. At that time crockery ware
could not be procured for house
keeping purposes, and this lady
informed me where I could have
it made, and straightway we
planned a day’s journey to the
foot of the mountain where a
pottery was in full blast. It was
a rough and perilous ride, yet I
was amply repaid, not only in
having my wants supplied, but
in seeing numerous articles, we
daily use, so quickly made. Like
you, I had seen jugs, cups, &c.,
all my life, but never saw them
made.
The person that makes them is
called a potter. I .found him very
obliging. He picked up a lump
of soft clay and placed in the
ndddio of a round Sable, called a
potter’s wheel, and with his feet
wade it spin round very fast,
then he tiirust hie fingers into the
middle of the lump and, while
tuniing it around, moulded it into
the shape he wanted it. Then lie
put on a handle and a lip and put
jt aside to dry, saying, “Now,
Wi'dam, this is to be placed in a
kiln or furiiaoe and baked hard,
and I will take you to see yes'
torday’s work in the baking pro-
ooiW.” I aocompauied him and
saw cups and sauces, jars, jugs,
&c., all burning, and in the ad
joining apartment a fluid called
(jlaze, in which the articles were
to be dipped and baked again to
make the work smooth and glossy.
(There many a confederate dol
lar bill w^as exchanged with the
poUer for articles that could n’t
be purchased in Oxford.) I saw
tiny pieces of clay put in a mould,
then placed on the wheel, and out
■wonld come a nice plate or a jar
in less time than I have taken to
write you ot it.
The potter had patterns print
ed on paper, and if he wanted a
blue or red plate, he would put it
on after the first baking, before*it
was glazed, with the figures on
the plate, and then wash the pa
per off in water. The paint would
stick, and the glazier would bake
it the second time for some lord
or lady to use when feasting on
roast turkey, ham and cabbage,
&c. You may have read of this,
but I have seen it, and -u'ish to
impress on your minds the neces
sity of knowing somotliing about
every branch of industry, and
when you use a cup to drink, or
a plate to eat your dinner, you
must renieinber that it was raado
out of a small lump of clay,
probably like one you have just
kicked under your foot, and that
out of tile earth there are many
ways of gaining wealth, health
and knowledge, if you will prop-
erly apply your minds to “small
things that lead to weightier mat
ters.”
Since that time I visited a glass
factory in Brooklyn, New York,
and saw all kinds of glass made
both blown and cut. I first visi
ted the room where sand and so
da were mixed and jilaoed in a
furnace until wliite hot: then I
saw a man open the furnace and
take out a tiny piece on the end
of a long hollow rod, place tho
end of the rod in Ids mouth, blow
through it, and make a wine glas.s,
moulding it into the right shape
with his liand, and cutting it un
der the foot with scissors as you
would a piece of twine, d’hen be
put a piece in a mould, blew the
glass on the side of the mould,
and made a bottle. It ■w'as then
placed in a dark, long narrow
box, and drawn slowly to cool
before the air was blown upon it.
Small boys, like many of you,
were blowing tumblers, cruets,
bottles, &c. The Superintendent
carried me on the third floor to
see the pieces cut. The cutters
sit in front of a wheel that is
turned by machinery and cut tiie
articles according to their fancy
by holding it on the wheel.
Little boys and girls «are fond
of looking through the window
at the snow birds or great sights
passing through the streets, but
few of them think or know how
tlie glass is made for the window
lights that add bo much to their
comfort in keeping ont the cold
air or letting in the bea-utitul sun-
sliine. if they could see the,
man blow the bubble from the
hot Band and soda, and then hand
it to another to spin around, rod,
glass and all until it becomes a
round fiat sheet, tlie}^ would see
it rolled into a fiat pane of glass
for the window. Plate glass does
not come through r tube. Alter
being melted it is poured out on
a table and rolled while it is hot
as you have seen dough rolled for
biscuit, then it i» put in an oven
and baked. When it comes out
the polisher uses fine sand to give
it the right polish. Now if I have
not given you any information
worth having on this useful sub
stance, I have whiled aivay a lone
ly liour in "writing it. So good-
nignt until you hear again from
Your friend,
S. A. E.
A curious fact coimccted with tho graas-
loppor raid iu Western Missouri is that,
wherever pastures have been destroyed by the
usects, new varieties of grass, wliich never
>eforo have been seen iu the localities, have
ipniug op. Tho principal species is a greou
)uuch grass of luxuriant growth, covering
jTouud formerly yielding nothing but blue
graas. Cattle eat the new species with avid-
ty, It is oonjecturod that the seed was
brought to tho region and deposited by tho
grasslopper s^t'arin wbicli laid thou- eggs
there last fall. Stune definite explanation sf
the phenomenon would be very interesting,
since it is not known where the graas origi
nally grew or what may be expected of it, if
its growth continues, in the future. Possibly
tho grasshoppers may prove a blessing yet.—
Exchange,
If an influx of grass-hoppers
slioiild come upon our North Oar
olina “old fields” and eat off the
broom sedge, leaving a new vari
ety of good pasture grass, we
tliink the pest might be tolerated.
“Do«s God Ever Scold !”
“Mother,” said a little girl,
"does God ever scold f" Biie had
seen her mother, under circum
stances of strong provocation, lose
her temper, and, give way to the
impulse of passion ; and ponder
ing thoughtfully for a moment,
she asked,
^'Mother, does God ever scold?"
The question was so abrupt
and startling that it arrested the
mother’s attention almost with a
shook ; and she asked :
“Why, my child, what makes
you ask that question f”
“Because, mother, you Lave
always told rue that God is good,
and that we should try to be like
him ; and I shotdd like to know
if ho ever scolds.”
“No, my cliild, of oourge not.”
“Well, I'm glad he dou’t, for
scolding always hurts me, even
if I feel I have done wrong, and
it don't seem to me that I could
love God very much if ho scolds.”
The mother felt rebuked before
her simple child. Never before
had she heard so forcible a lecture
on the evils of scolding. The
words the child sank deep into
her heart, and she turned away
from the iunooent face of her lit
tle one to hide the tears that
gathered to her eyes. Children
are quick obsarvoi-B; and the
cltild, seeing tlie effect of her
words, eagerly' inquired:
“Why do you cry, mother: Wim
it naughty for me to say what 1
said f ’
“No, my love it was all right, i
1 was only' Blinking I might have'
spoken more kindly, and not
have hurt your feelings by' speak
ing BO hastily and in anger as I
did.”
“Oh, mother, y'ou aj-e good
and kind ; ouly I wish there were
not so many- bad things to makes
you fret and talk as you did just
uow. It makes me feel away'
from y’ou so far, as if I could not
come near to you, as I do when
you speak kindly; and oh, some
times I fear I shall bo put off so
far I can never get back again.”
“No, my child, don’t say that,”
said the mother, puable to keep
back her tears, as she felt how her
tones had replied her little one
from her heart; and tho child,
wondering what so affected her
parent, but intuitively feeling il
was a case requiring sympathy,
reached up and throwing her
arms about her mother’s neck,
whispered;
“Mother, dear mother, do 1
make you erv! Do you love
aw r
“Oh yps ! I love you more than
I can tell,” said the parent; clasp
ing the little one to her bosom,
“iuid I will try never to scold
again, but if I have to reprove
my' child, 1 will try to do it, not
in auger, but kindly', deeply as I
may bo grievd that she has done
wrong.”
“Oh, I am so glad ; I can got
so near to you, if y'Ou dont scold ;
and do you know, mothpr, 1
w'aut to love you so much, and 1
will try alway’8 to be good.”
The lesson was one that sank
deep into that mother’s heart;
and' has been an aid to her for
many a year. It impressed the
great principle of reproving in
kindness, not iu anger, if we
would gain the great end of re
proof—tho great end of winning
the child, at the same lime, to
what is riglit and to the parent’s
heart.—dixchanqe.
Hum,
A gentleman took his eon to a
drunken row in a tavern, where
tho inmates were fighting and
sweariug, and said he;
‘Do you know what caused all
tlu.s r
‘No, sir.’
liis father pointing to the de
canters, said :
‘Tliat’s the cause. lYill you
take a drink V
Tho hoy' started hack with hor
ror and exclaimed :
‘No 1’
Then he took the child to the
cage of a raam witli deliritim tre
mens. 'J’he boy ga*ed upon him
affrightened as the drunkwd rav
ed and tore and thinking the de-
mnis W'j-e after him, cried,
‘Leave me alone! leave mo alone I
I see ’em I they’re coming!’
‘Do you know tho cause of this,
my boy f’
‘No, sir.’
‘Tins is caused by' drink, will
you have some f and the bov
shrank back with a shudder as he
rsfussid tho cup.
Next th»y called at the miser
able hovel of a drunkard, where
was squalid poverty, and, with
onihs, knocking down his chil
dren,
‘"WTiat ha* caused this V said
tho father.
Then son was silent.
.When he told that it was rnm,
ho declared that he would nover-
touch a drop hi his. lifej
But suppose tlrat lad idiould be
invititad to a wedding feast,
where, with fruit and cake, the
wine cup is passed amid scenes
of oheai'fulne.s8 and gayetj where
all the friends ai’e respectable,
beloved, and kind to each other,
and he should be asked to
drink, would he refuse f’ Or
suppose him walking out with Ida
father on a Now Year’s Day to
call on his young lady friends, to
enjoy the festivity of iLsherlng in
the new year. With other things,
wine is handed to him by a smil
ing girl. Ilis noble-hearted fa
ther, ivhom ho loves, pres.s6s the
wine-glass to his lips, and com
plements the y'outig lady on the
excellence of its quality ; what
wonder if the sou follow his ex
ample I
Africaji
Mr. Stanley, tho famous dis
coverer of Dr. Livingstone, is de
termined to carry on the work
which Dr. Livingstone left in
complete. lie has facilities for
doing it which no other African
traveler Ess possessed. Among
other equipments, he took with
him a boat forty feet in length,
mads up iu different compart
ments, capable of being joined
together easily and strongly.
With this boat he haa reached the
groat Lake Victoria Nyanza, and
has launched it upon the strange
African waters.
Dr. Livingstona was obliged to
traverse tho shores of this lake on
toot, and very' slowly, on account
of the niarshr nature of the
ground, and ho siuv, thoroforo,
only a small part of it, and con-.
jectured what the rest in'ght
But Mr Stanley will find it a,
much _ea.sier task to make a etr-
cuit of the shores of the entire
lake, and learn its connections
with other lakes, and settle ffuaU
ly' the question W'hether from it
the Nile takes tts rise. Ife mav
also 1 e able to transport his, boat
to the Congo, and reach its, head
waters, almost as unkno.wn and
mysterious as those of the Nile,
it will be curious if an Aniericait
should he the first to penetrate
the secrets of a continent which
England has been trying in vain
for a century to solve.
d he IIqu. Ly'man Tremaine,
writing from Carlsbad, Germany,
relates tho following ; “On Sni’»
day before last quite an interest
ing little incident occurred at the
conclusion of tire services iu the
Englislt church. As tliore was no
regular organist, the rector had
requested that if any' lady present
was willing to play on the melo-
doqn next Sunday', ho would be
obliged if she would intorm him.
At tho close a lady', who was a
stranger to him, volunteered her
services. Discovering that she
spoke in broken English, he said;
‘ Do y'ou think y'ou are compe
tent to play upon tlie melodeon 1”
Said she ; “I think I am. Per
haps you may not doubt it when
I tell you my' name. It is Jenny
Lind Goldschmidt.” lie chew-
f.tlly acquiesced, and propoundetf
no more questions a.s to her ca
pacity. She appeared to be a
woman of fifty or upwards, witff
uotliing about her to attract at
tention, and was dressed with
great plainness and simplicity,
without ornament of any kind,
Ilercountenanoe, no longer beau
tiful, seemed to mp plainly' mark
ed by sorrow, sadness, and care,”
TUc Poor Bo}',
Don’t ho ashamed, my' lad, if
you have a patcli on y-our elbow.
[ is no mark of di.sgrace. It
speaks well for your industrious
mother. For onr payt we would
rather see a do^eu patches op
vour jacket than hear one pro
fane or vulgar word escape your
lips. No good hoy will shun
you because y'on cannot dress .as
well as your coiiipanions, and if
a bad boy semetimos laughs at
your appeai-ance say nothing, my
lad, but walk on, VVe know ma
ny a rich aiid good m,an who w'aa
O ioe like you. Indeed, most of
those who are ranked as benefac-
tois of thou’ race were born
among the poor, and many of
them have been compelled to
to struggle with poverty all their
life, Do not blush fill' y'our poy-
erty, hut rather for the false pride
vi'liich tempts you te be asham§d
of it,
Some one estimates that all the
prayers recorded in the Bible
could be repeated in tliirty-fiva
minutca, Most of them are froui
one minute to two minutes long]
Tlie prayer of golpnion is less
than ton minutes. Is there not
a lesson and a warning in these
facts, which should be noted by
Olil’istians I Let ns not imaain.
that we are to ’.s’
much speaking.