1
ORPHANS’ FRIEND.
'Wednesday, Febriaary 23, IS77,
WHAT SHAM. CilIl.DlC£i\
KEAB?
All good people deidore the effect of
pernicious literature ou the minds of
children, hut as children will read
something, they shmdd be supplied
with books of Avliolesonie moral tone.
IJo this and they will cease to era^■o
sensational stories. Wiiatevor gives
informal ion to a child generally inter
ests him, and lie will read instructive
books with avidity if they are written
in langiiago not above his comprehen
sion. 1'’. K. Goulding lias written some
entertaining- stories, and few boys or
girls will lay aside “The Young Maroon-
ers” for any of the j)a])er-back tra.sh
of the day. Jacob Abbott may well
be called' the children’s friend, for be
sides his story books he has furnished
them with so many valuable histories.
Although manj' of these are, mere biog-
raphies,short and inconi] )lete,he invests
his characters with so much interest
that the reader -will seek farther infor
mation concerning them in larger vol
umes. Ohildreu have a natural taste
for history, even “Cinderella and tire
Glass Slipper’’ loses its fascination af
ter liearing the adventures of real peo-
j)le. The 1 angiiage of histories is usually
well Cho.sen, at least there is no news
paper slang nor niu.shrooiu words to
con-npt tlie language of the reader.
And though'; a course of historical
reading makes one familiar with many
record.s of erime, yet tlie faithful histo
rian throws no false glamour over his
charaoters; vice and ignorance are por
trayed in such a wmy as to excite hor
ror. If we seek good examples, the
Images of history teem with them; the
story of good king Alfred the wander
ing harjier, never wearies, and the sluii-
iiig character of Bayard, the Chevalier,
“rfaiis jienr, sans reproche,” never fails
to fascinate, and Pavia the scone of his
death is invested w ith an interest that
no writer of fiction can over give to the
Ijiace where his most thrillhig scenes
oeciu-ed. ’William, tlie Silent, challen
ges the admiration of any school-boy
and makes him regard Ilollaud as of
more im])ortance in the history of na
tions, than it would ever appear in his
eyes had he never read the history of
tiiis brave defender of the Dutch Ito-
publie.
Some writers sayread the history of a
coiuitry in its literature; bat there are
few works that will not be read with
greater interest if the history of the
author is known together with tlie cir-
cumstanoes that led to its production.
The pleasure of reading Teleniaque,
is greatly enhanced, by first becoming
aciiiiainted with the life and trials of
the ])ions li'enclon and his pupil, the
good Dauphin ; charaetiii's tliat appear
ill glaring contrast to the courtiers
of the corrupt eom-t of tlie Grand Mon
arch.
SPEAKING S® AS TO BE
ENDERSTOOD.
It is a marvel how comparative
ly little attention is paid to distinct
Xirommciation, when so much depends
on it. Streiigtli of lungs is not wdiat
is needed so much as slcill in pronounc
ing. The sibilant letters require siieo-
ial attention, but the organs of speech
can and slionld be trained so as to give
every letter its iiroper accent. 'Words
are the medium through which the
thoughts and feelings of one mind are
conveyed to .another mind, and impres
sion is deepened and 1lie tlionght ex
actly conveyed, only when ei ery sound
of the woriis i.s distinct, seiiarate, ar
ticulate. Thanks to progress some of
our schools arc waking iq) to this ne
cessity.
Davenport Female College, at
Lenoir, in Caldwell county, lias been
burned. The building stood on a beau
tiful site, ill full view of High Briglitou
Momitiiiii, and offered good education
at a low iiricc. It belonged to the iS’.
C. Coiiference, and was not insured.
The loss to the Gonference is heavy;
to the children it is irrejiarable.
Commodore Vanderbilt was an
habitual swearer uii to six months be
fore lus death, and he lived to bo 82
years old. Dr. Deems says he died a
Christian. Nothing is imjiossible with
God. But lie was one of the few ex
amples of the eleventh hour, converts.
The life of the great millionaire was
absorbed in the iiitere.st of this world,
and he makes no aiqiropriatiou from
his vast wealth for the advance of
Christianity.
The Misses Orphan Aid Society
of Goldsboro are a noble baud of work
ers. They have remitted 8115 to the
Asylum as the re,snlt of their efforts
for the oiqihaus. They shall have their
reward.
VASSAR COEEEOE.
Vassal'has areputatioii fortliorongh-
ness, wliicli is as merited as it is nn-
(luestioiied, and there are some fea
tures ill its management which we
think our southern schools would
do well to imitate; but they cry with
one accord, “ Vassal- has money.” So
it has, and a better supply of it than
any of our schools can lioxic for at
present; but .some things may bo imi-
taied without money. lintlinsiasm
iiei'Cr dies out at Vassar. Tlie most
ordinary Freshman feels the effects of
it. It is no sxiasinodic inllnence, but
is snstained thronghoat each semester,
and tills isbroiiglit about by tlie active
mode of teacliiiig. It is a rare thing
to see a teaclier, either male or female,
assume a comfortable position while a
clas-s is reciting-. The teacher stands,
and during the tlirco quarters of an
Iionr assigned to each reoitation we
felt tliei'O was no time to go to sleep,
either niontally or pliysically, knowing
too well that all we knew about the
subject in question would be drawn out
of lis, and knowing too that tlie teacher
had studied that lesson; we wont to
class feeling that we had mastered
iho subje( t,bnt came away feeling that
an unexplored field lay liefore us.
Names often tell their historj'
by their significance; but tliey frequent
ly acquire- a new signifleanee, because
their liistory is forgotten or unknown.
Few of the bearers of the name I’ercy
are aware of its origin. In feudal times
a Scotch baron was besieged in his
castle, and having displayed the flag
of truce from Iris battlements, a knight
adniiieed with raised visor to receive
a letter whieli the baron extended on
the iioint of his lance. As he stooxi-
ed to take it the treaclioxous baron
tlii'U.st the iioint of the lance in Iris eye,
and thus acquired the name of “Fierce
eye.” It was ajqilied to liiui as an eii-
itliet of reproacli, but lias since been
coiiti-aclcd to Fercy, ivliidi is now a
x ery XHipnlar name.
St. Valentine’s Day has been grad
naUy resigned to the children, when
formally it was hailed with delight by
bashful lovers, and aided the course of
tnie love by many a xiretty device.
Although St. Valentine died some
where ill the year 27.0, his name, is as
familiar as a household w'ord and few
children are not familiar with his
memory. The letters which liavo
Xiass through the London xiost office on
this eventful day have readied the .sum
of $200,000 be.siles the usual daily av
erage. But model'll taste and culture
carries ns furtlier and further from such
simiile customs until we of the nine
teenth century look upon the Saint as
some old fogy unworthy the name of
liriest and martyr.
THE TEN WWRKERS.
(From the Fi-eDch.)
“A story, Prudentius, a storj-,
good fellow !”
The man smiles, and glancing
at Martha always idle :—
“That is to say,” said he, “I
must pay for my welcome. Well
then ! your ivisli shall be gratified
my good people. The last time,
I talked to you about the long
ago, when pagan armies desolved
our hills, that was a narrative
suited to men. To-day I shall
tell you (if you do not object,)
something about women and lit
tle children. Let each have his
turn. We have considered Cm-
sar ; let us now attend to mother
Veit d’ Eau.”
Eveiy one burst into a shout
of laughter; quickly arranged
themselves. William lit his pipe,
and tlie generous-hearted Pru
dentius began:—
“This story, my pets, is not
like those told by nurses, and it
ought to be found in the alma
nacs among true histories; for
the adventure happened to our
grandmother Charlotte whom
William knew, and she was a
woman of remarkable courage.
Grandmother Charlotte had
been also young in her time,
which appeared a little incred
ible to those who saw her scat
tered grey hair and her nose al
ways in friendly proximity to her
chin ; but those of her day said
that no young girl had a finer
face or a disposition more inclined
to gayety.
Uufortunatel}’, Charlotte was
left alone with her fatlier, at the
head ul a large farm more en
cumbered with debts tlian income;
soalthougli work succeeded work,
yet the poor girl, who was ill-
suited to such cares, often lapsed
into despondency, and fell into
the habit of doing nothing (here
tile speaker glanced again at
Martha) while she was seeking an
opportunity of doing every thing
in an easier wajn
One day then, while seated be
fore the door, her hands under
her ajiron, as a lady sulfering
with chilbhiin, she begins taking
to herself quite low ; “God for
give 1 the burden laid on me is
not tiie burden of a Christian wo
man ! and it is a thousand pities
that I am worried, at my age,
with such cares !” Though 1
were more active than tlie sun,
quicker than water, more patient
than fire, I should never be ade
quate to all the labors of the
household. AIi ! wlij’ is the good
tairy Vert d’ Eau no longer in
the world I or wlij^ was she not
invited to niy baptism 1 If she
could hear me, and only was wil
ling to help me, perhaps we
would find a release, I from my
cares, and my father from his
troubles.”
“lie satisfied, then, I am here,”
put in a voice, and Cliarlotte saw,
before her, mother Vert d’ Eau,
looking- at her, leaning ou her
little holly staff.
For a moment the \'oung eirl
was frightened, for the fairy’s
dress was little in accordance
with the fashion of the times ;
she was completely enveloped in
a frog skin, the head of which
served her as a bonnet; and slie
was so old, so ugly, and so wrin
kled, that with a million for
dowry, she could not have found
a husband.
In the meanwliile, Charlotte
recovered her composure soon
enough to ask the fairy, in a voice
rather trembling, but witli tlie
utmost politeness, wliat she could
do for lier.’
“Ah ! are you really in earnest,
good mother I” cried Charlotte,
actions to every thing, fail in
nothing, succeed completely. As
tonished, she uttered a cry of
delight, and extending her arms to
the fail'}'-, said
“All ! motlier Vert d’Eau, lend
me these ten active workers, and
I ask nothing more of the Creator
of the world.”
“I do better," said she, “I give
thorn to you ; oiilj!’, as you could
not take them about with you,
without being accused of witch
craft, 1 will order each of them to
make himself very small, and will
hide them away in your ten lin
gers.”
When this liad been done:—
‘ You are now aware what a
treasure you possess,’ replied
mother Vert d’ Eau, all will de
pend on the use you may make
of them. If you are ignorant
how to govern the little helper's,
if you allow them to grow stupid
by idleness, you will derive no
profit from thenr ; but give them
a proper direction, lest they inav
fall asleep, never leave y-our fin
gers in rest, and the labor at
which you were affrighted, will
be found accomplished as if by
magic.’
The fairy spoke truly ; and our
gr-andmother wlio followed her
instructions succeeded not oirly
in righting the business of the
farm, but secured for herself a
dowry with whicli she effected a
happy union, and wliich helped
her to rear eight children easily
attd properly. Since, as tradition
tells us, she has transmitted the
workers of mother Vert d’ Eau to
all the females of the family, and
it tliese bestir themselves ever so
little, the little workers put them
selves in motion, and biing in
much profit. So we are in the
habit of saying, that it is through
the motions of the ten fingers of
the housewife that all jorospei'ity
comes, all tlie joy and all the
comfort of home.”
Unci.e Al.
lution than the latter. The
ground, too, under the trees re
tained far more water than the
exposed earth, the evaporation
from the surface, thanks to its
shade of trees and moss, being
only one-sixth of that outside
their friendly shelter. The mor
al of all this seems to be that we
slioukl plant jrines and fir forests
in sandy and chalky districts,
not only' to encourage the water
to come down, but to keep it in
position when it has fallen, and to
assist to prevent floods.”
UK. SCIEEIEMANN.
who all at once, grew verx' fa
miliar; “do you come to give me
a bit of your wand with which 1
shall be able to make all my' la
bor easy ?”
“Better than that,” replied Vert
d’ Eau, I bring you ten little
workmen who will execute what
ever 3'ou might wish to ask of
them.”
“Where are they ?” asked the
girl.
“Thou shaft see them.”
The old woman partly unclosed
her mantle, and thence issued ten
dwarfs of unequal height.
The first two were very' short,
but large and strong. “These,”
said she, “are the most powerful,
and will aid y'ou in every- work,
and will make up in strength what
they- want in dexterity. Those
whicli y'ou see following them,
are taller and more skillful; they
can milk, draw out the thread
from tlie distaff, and will attend
to all the house work. Their
bi-others, .whose tall stature y'Ou
notice, are very dextrous in using
the needle, as the little brass
thimble I have furnished them
shows. Here are two others less
skillful which are girded with
rings, and which will hardly be
able to assist in the general work,
as the last whose good-will you
must not unestimate. All the”ten
appear to y-ou, I say, a very trif
ling matter ; but you shall now
see them work, and judge for
y-ourself.
At these words, the fairv made
a sign, and the ten dwarfs sprang
out. Charlotte saw them perform,
one alter another, the roughest
and most delicate acts, suit their
INEEEENCE OF MAN ON
CEIMATE.
The London Evening Standard
observes: “The influence of man
upon climate has been a favorite
subject of late y-ears, and it has
been demonstrated that, by- cut
ting down forests and draining
the soil, man can materially
change the climate of a country,
sometimes to his advanta.o-e and
sometimes to his detriment.
Some recent experiments have
shown the extent to which woods
will affect the rainfall. We read in
Bkdermanris Centraihlatt that the
most recent experiments have
been undertaken to ascertain to '
what extent the rainfall may be
affected by firs and pines. Two
observatories were established for
purposes of compa.iison—the one
over a clump of Pinus sy'lvestris
some forty feet high, and the
other over a bare sandy plain
three hundred metres(three hun
dred and twenty-eight verds) dis
tant from the wood, and at the
same heiglit above the level of the
ground. Twelve months’ obser
vation showed tliat of the total
rainfall within that period, ten
per cent, more fell over the
trees than over the bare sand
three hundred metres distant
from them. Tins result is regar
ded as all the more surprising
since experiments of a precisely
similar nature in giving an ex
cess of five per cent. Only in
favor of tlie wooded site of ob
servation. Further, the mean
state of saturation of tlie air over
the wood was found to be ten per
cent, higher than of that over the
bare expanse of sand, the former
holding much more water in so-
A German gentleman of this
city, an old personal friend of
Dr. Schliemaiin, says that the
professor is the son of humblo
parents in Mecklenburg, Germa
ny'. At sixteen he sailed from
Hamburg to Venesmela, but got
wrecked on the Dutch coast. He
subsequently was a porter in a
store, and was glad of a place at
SlOO a year. Here he arranged
to teach a New Yorker Spanish
in exchange for lessons in Itali
an. So poor were they' that they
were a year without a regular din
ner. Next Scliliemann learned
Russian from an old soldier; af
terward, a Russian gentleman
took a fancy to liim, and had Iiim
for some time as a courier. Af
ter traveling over Europe, he
took 3'oung Scliliemann to Mos
cow. After four years there, ho
returned to Amsterdam with
■S93.000, and started for Califor
nia (1851), where lie became a
banker. In four years lie came
to New York wortli $400,000,
and when he got smitten with
the excavation bu.siness he liad
his million. In a moment of en
thusiasm he exclaimed to some
Athenian friends, “I will niarrv
the first lady I see who can recite
the Odyssey,” The statement
Was repeated by Ins heareisasan
offer. It was an interestiiig piece
of gossip. “A niillionaire Anier-
ican” (for he is a iia!uralzei
citizen of this country, and id-
ways calls himself every wlieio
an Aiiiericiiii) ‘“wants a wifi',
Apply, witliout reference, if you
know Homer.” A tail- Greek
girl presented lierself unintroduo-
ed, told him what .she had heard,
fulfilled to his satisfaction the
solitary condition, was offered
and accepted liis heart and his
hand. Biie is now known
tlirouglioiit Christendom as the
sliarer of his toils at Mycense, as
his brave and capable ally in the
work for which ho lives. “We
have to do the work ourselves,
Mrs. Scliliemann and I, ” he lias
just written to the London Times.
“The task is exceedingly difficult
and painful, particularly in the
present r.ainy' weather, for we cart
not dig otherwise than on our
knees, cutting with our knives
the earth and stones carefully a-
way, so as not to injure or lot
escape any ot the gold ornaments. ’
This lady' will have a poem writ
ten on her one of these days.
She is said to be the only woman
in Greece who knows the Odvs-
s®y I’y heart. She carried off
Priam’s treasures concealed in
her shawl, in order to elude the
vagrant brigands.—Bazar.'
—Princeton College is just
now somewhatunpleasantly' prom
inent in the papers, under charges
of having paid too much attention
of late to the things which are
seen and temporal, such as build
ings, etc., and not quite enough
to weightier matters of Iiigh stand
ard of scholarship and increased
facilities for advanced instruction.