OEPHANS’ FRIEND. \V‘lnesday, Fel>iiasiry li. “*0110 of the firyt things to bo done is to be^u ■with t)ie ])et)i)lc fiiul "we mean all the people. We must liave a health- ly i}ubUc sentiment on the subject of education. We can’t do anything ■\vithout it. This ciuinot be brought about by ^‘rigorous laws,” e.si)ecial]y if by “rigorous laws,” -is meant a cum- pul8or>’ school la■\^^ We do not think our people are ])re])aredforcom])aLsory la’ws on tlie subject. Tiiey ■would not, in our opinion, sustain the Jjegislature, should that body see lit to make such a la'w. We are opposed to such laws. If it ■^vere neeessaiy we could give tlie grounds of our opposition. We are willing for the State to aid and encour- Hge, and think it should, as far as 3)os- fiible, aid and encourage, general edu cation, but it ought not in onr opinion to comi)cI.”—--Biblical Itecorder. The people not prepared for compul- jaory laws on the subject of education ! 6o think the editors of a po])ular paper, in an able article on popular cdiu^ation. They are opposo.l to such laws and they wani timid legislators against them. How strange! For many years we have had such laws in force in our -State j the Legislature has enacted them; the peoj)!© have approved them and enforced them j and now it is dis covered tliat the people are not prepared for such laws ! When boys and gii-ls are bound oait, the men to whom they are bound are required by law to send them to school for a specified time. This is compulsory education as far as it goes. Are the editors of tlie Eccor- der opposed to it ? Are they opposed to the law that lets a boy go to school for a few months, so that he may learn to read the laws of his country and the commandments of his Maker f If so, may the Lord have mercy on their souls. But if bound children have a right to learn to read, shall the same privilege be denied to children living with their parents 1 Take this case : A married woman dies lea\ing a boy. The husband •wishes to marry again. The second wife does not want the first-svite’s child. The father gives the boy to a poor old ■woman who hires him out and lives upon his wages. The boy is worked iiiglit and day, very scantily' fed and clothed, and never allowed a day in school, though Mias Bradley’s excellent free school is near at hand. Some compul- ROiy law ought to compid that father to allow that motherless boy to learn to read. But the editors of the Eecorder are opi^osed to such a law! Then they are the avowed advocates of compulso ry ignorance ! Alas, for our country when our wise and good men propose to rivet the fetters of vice and ignorance on childhood and mnocence! Those wlio opimso compulsoiy education are obliged to advocate comi)ulsory igno rance. we beg the editors of the Recorder to reconsider the question, oefore they lend thmr immense indu- cace to an umighteous and ruinous '■-luse. We believe that children (as ■well as ■2,routs) have some iidierent rights, a . 'ght to do right, and a right to learn 'hat is right. Tlxe i>eople are willing > grant them these rights. How can 00(1 men say, “we are opposed to such ws f ’ Tnii X. C. Bond-holders, residing in *w York, have foiuid out that, the il North State is worth $200,250,000, d want UvS taxed accordingly. Tliey r’get that we owe others besides tlicm- ( 'Ives. The State is in debt, the coun- ^ is are in debt, the cities are in debt, ' churches are in debt, the lodges I societies are in debt, and (worse . .u all) iiidmduals are in debt. Some rcliants already owe New York ■ )re than they are worth. Debt pro ds as an epidemic on man, and to • me C-xtent it is epizo-otic among the ists. The State is. building a peni- itiiuy to cost a million, and a new d-house at Morgaiiton to cost $100.- 0. We are also obliged to pay high • the privilege of being gouged and ,'or»ed. All this is to be done after houses have been burned, our cro])s 'oured, and our preqK'rty plundered, wonder our i)oliti(aans touch so • hu-Iy the delicate RMVj*et. But af- ufl, we ought to pay our lienest ts. PALIiMJKUS NODDING AX’ X'lIE HELITI. The N. 0. rresbytenanis edited Avith cousincuous ability, and we read it with eager interest. Generally it is remarkably accurate ; but in the paper of last Aveek, in the editorial leader, is the folloAving: “But, kike ]>riest, Iike*people’ is as true now as (iA'er it Avas. A ministry richly instructed, and with a zeal i)ro- portiojK'd iii its intelligence and in its warmtli to llie doctrinal knowledge Avlihdi iiiforms it as Aveli as to tlie i)U‘ty which ennobles it, Avill usually, by God’s ordinary .moA'ements uiKm the liearts of Ilis 3)eo3>k‘, be the means of bringing them iq) in iiarmonv Avitli it self.” Hosoa says: “ And there shall bo like ])eoplo, like priest, and I will pun ish them for tludr Avays and reward them for their doings.” Isaiah also says: “And it shall bo, as Avith tlie people, so Aviththe priest.” We have seen a few excei)tio]is, but the Bible rule is true: “.like p(H)i)lc, like priest.” G-onerally the 3)reacliers go down to tlie pedide, or tlie people take one from their own Uwel. The preacher can not pull them iqi to a higher plane. I\Ioro learning and more religion A^'ill elevate them. Ellie.ient schools and AA'orks of charity should therefore be to the ministry ob.jeets of careful culture; for these Avill lift the people u]). Some denominations are now making a serious blunder in lay ing too much stress on tlie education of ministers. Educate the iieople and there Avill be a demand for edueated ministers, and for no others. Tlien ignorance Avill retire from the ludpit, as mist before the morning sun. But keci) the peoide ignorant, and they Avill keep themselves siqiplied Avith preachers like tlieinseh'es. TIfiE IIIGSaWAY TO ASIA. We are glad that tardy old England has at last seen the A-alue of tlie iioav road to Asia, and has iiiA'ested heavily in tlic stock of the Suez Canal. Eng land owns the Eock of Gibraltar, dots CA'cry sea Avith lier commerce, and ought to be tired of doubling the Avliolc continent of Africa to reach her pos sessions in Asia. Whmi Cicsar Avas a school-lxiy, jii- rates infested the Mediterranean; but Eomjx^y, Avith an arjiiy on eai^h sidi^ and a navy (ui the sea, drove them be fore him from the Pillars of .Hercules on tlie West to the end of tlie waters on tlie East. Then the midland sea became a great higliway for the na tions, and so may it ever continue. It is a gTcat blessing to all mankind tliat a shi]) may load in New York, Norfolk, Wilmington, Newbern, or Beaufort, ajid unload at Brindisi, Jafia, Alexan dria, jMocha, Calcutta, or Shanghai. Ea'cii the heathen may peep into ciA'il- ization, and the learned may A'erify history by the monuments of antiquity. The RQw Judge, Gen Cox, appointed by the Clovernor to succeed Judge Watts, is aiaking a good impression. Mr. Ball, ed itor of the New North State, and a political opponent, says : “ lie .scons actuated l)y a laudable desire to do justice, to all ])arties, and wliile he a|)])ears to bo kind-liearted, he is at the same time iirm andprom])! in Ids administration of justice. Ills rulhis's, so far, liave piven siitisfaetiou; and it may be .siifel,\' ])rediet«Hl tliat he will make a most excellent judge.” The Prodigal Son represents the Gentiles, and the elder sou is a type of the Jews. But . every wandering sinner should consider himself a prodi gal, and, after coming to himself, return to his Father. The good slieep will probably never un derstand why so much joy is ex pressed at the return of those which perversely go astra}'. Rev. Elias Dodson says that, ill old times, presidents were elected by throwing in votes; no« they are elected by throw ing out votes. Returning Spring Enables a Xash beau to ride a high horse. He is describing, in the Wilson Advance, a human girl raised on meat and bread. Just listen ; “A beautiful, gi’aeefiil and gifted young lady, wonderoiisly attractive, in body and mind—comjilexion fair a,s the dawn of a siiiiniier iiioriiiiig—lilies and roses am! jicacli blooni.s com 1 lined, eyes iliat dri'vc the stars of heaven distract ed with envy, lasiies iiiore gloriomsly silken tlian ever friny;ed the lids of oriental lloiiri, hair inwliieli ten tlioii- saiid clouded sunbeams nestle, darkly liright, iine as gossamer tlireads, pow erful as tlie greeu witlis tliat bound Delilah’s Bamp.son; a lovlier and a more euehaiitiiig creature never tiitted the jiortahs of a piirailise in a poet’s ilream, left our niidst last Tliursday.” lierQ is anotiiier from the liocky Mount Mail. He is congratulating a bridegroom and a hrido. Hoar him : “ tVlieii .spring hath fairy treasures in her keejiing and many are the hiiid- scaiies tliat she weaves, ma,v yoiu’s be a lot of eontcntiiieiit. When summer comes with broiling sun and beautiful liiiwei's, may your dreain.s of fairy liowers ami pleasant hours be all you wislied. Wlien Autumn comes and \'egetatioii begins to fade, iiiiiy yoiir lives then .shine out beautiful from be neath tlie sombre shade of yellow crisiied leave.s. When winter comes and all nature slicds her rich eo.stumi', may your lives tlien glisten like dew- drops in tlie .sliade, and may your hearts ever glow in the delicious trance of love—tliiit love wliicli iiiakes a un ion of I he soul. We eengratiilato yon “Buck,” You’ve hail g.jud luck. Next. Judge Battle is to reopen liis law-school at Chapel Hill. Sensible and timely. The Committee of the Legisla ture, on the Asylum for the In sane, says: That everything in and around the A.syluiii gives evidence of tlie faithful ness witli which the ollicers and em ployees of the institution diseharge the respective duties incumbent upon tiieiii. This is certainly .a high coiii- plimont to Dr. Grissom, and it is not at all strange that so many people oppose a change of ad- niiiiisfration. Is EduGation a derrick or a jack-screw I Must it raise up the ))cople from above, or must it lift tlieni from beneath ? Will universities, colleges and high schools draw the people up, or must elernentarv schools create a demand for higher education ? Wo should like to have the views of educators on this important question. The Constitution of North Carolina says: “The people have, a right to the privi lege of education.” “It is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right.” “Schools and the means of oducation shall forever be encouraged.” And still some good men are opposed to compulsory laws on this vital subject. —Rev. Mr. Griftitli, fimner iia.stor of tlie Metliodist cliurcli in tins place, spent last Siiiidiiy witli lii.s old cliarge. In the iiftemoon lie ])reaclied at tlie Oiyilian A.sylum. He believes in prac tising wliat he preaclie.s. Rev. Elias Dodson, jiassing through Oxford, ])i'eached at the oi'idian Asy lum last Monday evening. “Don’t kill tlio birds!--the linlo birds That sing .about your door,” Has furnished many a juvenile ora tor with a Friday evciiiiig’.s recitation; but a eorrespoiiileut iif The English Mechanic gives a novel reason for such humanity in unfolding the tlieory that the siiig-iiig of birds is conducive to vegetable life ami states tliat he noted a woiiilcrful impvovemoiit in Ids roses and other liowers after intriKlncing a lini'nioniuni i:ito his green hjime. Ver ily thi;is an .•..riiii. A troublesome old woman can be exceedingly ^troublesome, when she sets her heart upon it. We receive children having no jja- rents, and'those having no fathers and destitute or degraded mothers. But tliese mothers often prove an interminable annoj’ance. Some times they come here and attonqit to revise our plans for us. Some times they take children awav just as wo get them started in their studies, and so prevent anv good we might he able to do them. Now we ask the i'rieiuls of the orjiliaiis not to Send ns any more children of troublesome mothers. JLSI’B.—(From ilte F rench.) I have already' jiassed over the larger portion of the life appoint ed me; 1 am famihar with its promises, its realities, its illti.dons. You might remind me what it is fancied to he ; I will tell you how it is realized, not to dispel the fragrance of Ilojie’s sweet flowers (life is a perfect good to him who knows its aim,) hut to guard against mistakes in regard to tliis very aim, and, in revealing what it can give, to teach j-oii what you must expect from it, and in what manner you must eniploy it. Some, my yniing pupils, think it long ; hut it is very short: for youth is only its slow budding, and old age, ils gradual decay. In seven or eigiit years you will have glimpsed all the fruitful ideas of which you are capable, and tliere will remain to you on ly twenty years of real strength to tarn these to jirolit. Twenty years ! _vou exclaim, tliat is an eternity ! and yet, it is hut a mo ment. Listen H) those to wliom these twenty years are no more : they flit by as a shadow, and nought remains of them. Learn then the value of time; enipiov it with jealous unwearied activity. You will liave much to do : tiiese years which stretch out bclhre you ns a limitless panorama, w:l. realiz'd lint a small part of the ex- jiectations of your youth ; the rest willremaiii undeveloped hudsovm- which tlie swift summer of life will have passed without iiowering, and which will witlier witliout fruit, under the frost of old age. Your age is liable to deception 5”et, taking another view of life : the unrealized dreams ot happi ness. That which paints youth in such bright tints, making us mourn over its loss, is tiie two fold deception which puts far off the horizon of life, and invests it with golden hues. Those noble instincts that speak within us, and which reach such lofty heights.; those ardent desires tliat invite us and impel ns, liow can we help believing that God has endowed us with them for their indulgence, with the promise that life shall supply it ? Yes, thereis a promise, the promise of a great and a glo rious destiny, and every longing it awakes in j’our breast will be realized ; but if you expect it in this world, you will be disap pointed. This existence is finite, and tlio cravings of your hoinn-, are infinite. Though each of yoii miglit wrest from it all the treas ures that it liolds, these treasures cast into that aching void, would fail to fill it; and these treasures come not at our call, a part is to he gained only at the cost of great effort, and Fortune does not al ways bestow the best on the most deserving. This is the lesson that experience teaches; that which saddens and discourages ; that v.'liicli causes us t.) murmur at it, and with it, the IhoviJeiice that gives It. was th an epoch more propitious than tlio present; none fias more generouta ly opened to all the means of securing life’s joj's, and yet it reechoes this complaint; failure in tlio pursuit of liappiness is im puted to God and to men, to so ciety and its leaders. Let V'our tongue not once join in this fool- isli querLiioiisiiess, lot v’our sjjirit never yield in its turn to this wretched depression ; and tliere- firo learn early to view life as it is, anti not to expect from il wluU it Joes not possess. It is neither Providence nor it that receives 3'ou ; it is we who are mistaken as to the designs of the one and the aiiii.= of the other. It is hy mistaking this aim that we sin and are unliappy ; it is in under- standitig it or accepting it, that the man is developed. Listen (o me, and let me tell you the truth. You are soon to enter on the stage ol life: of the thousand paths wiiicli it opens to human industry, each one of v'ou will take one. Tile career of some will be hi’il- liarit, that of otliers quiet and un known. Theposition and fortune of 3’Oiir pan n:s will, in a great measure, decide v'our destiin-. Let those who shall secure a mod- orale portion not nuirmur there at. Besides, providence is just, and that wlildi comes not tons would not he a blessing; and then onr country witnes.ses the competition and the toil of lier children, and in the machhieiy of society there is not a useless spring. Between the minister who governs the state and the workman who contributes to its prosperity, there is hut one difference, tlio duties of the one involvemoreof res|)orsihility than those of the other: hut to faitli- fulh' execute them, the moral worth is the same. Let each of you he satisfied with whatsoever part may fall to liim. Whatsoev er niav he ids eai'cer, it will fur nish liiiii a iiiis.sion, duties, and a certain aniinint of good to eifect, Tliat, then, will he his ta.sk; let him accomplisli it witli resolution ' and energy, lionestlv and faitn- faly' and he will have done in hi.s station all that is reijnired of man lo aciiive. Let him achieve it, also, without einy of In.s rival.-. Yon will not ho alone in vonr joariiey; you will 1)0 as.sociated with otliers called by Providence to |nirsiio the same end. In this ihtecour.-o of life the}’ will he able to surpass you, by talent or bj’ being indebted to fortune ior a success whicli yon have failed to attain. Do not blame them; and if you , have done the best you could, do not blame yourselves. Success is not the most important thing; that which is of vital importance, is the will to do; is that which depends on man, wliich elevates iiim wliich gives him conscious ness of duty done. Thediscliargo of duty, this is, may young pu pils, the true aim of life, the true good. Atyu recognize it by this taken that it depends entirety on your will to attain it, and hy this also, that it is equally within the reach af all, the poor as well as the ricli, the ignorant or the wise, tlie herdsman or the King; and that it permits God to cast us all, as we are, in the same balance and to weight us with the same weights. It is h\' such a course as this, that the only real happiness in tlie world i.s produced in the soul, and the only one also which is acoesiblo to all, and appertained to each one ac cording to his merit—contenmenl. Thus all is just, all hariiionious, all well ordined in life, wlien it is co'mprefioiidcJ as God lias made it, when it answers its true pur pose. UxcLB An.