Newspapers / Highland Messenger (Asheville, N.C.) / Sept. 10, 1841, edition 1 / Page 1
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-J 1 1 , i i--- 9 : , ' : . , " , " . ' F I - . . , . - - - f Life in onlf to be rained as It la tucf cillf employed. VOLUME IL-NUMBER tl. ASIIEVILLE, KORTII CAROLINAi, FRIDAY MO'RNING, SEPTEMBER 10, 1841. U0LE NUMBER 63. P. R. M'ANaLLY L 3. ROBERTS, EDITORS. PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAT MOR5INO, tt J. , J. ii. en uTiT r& co., jPuMuhertof the LawitTreatUi, $e.,pf tit V. S. MISCELLANEOUS. A R1U Iromlie Towu-Puin?. BT NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. (Scene The corner of two principal ilrettt. Tlie Tovrjf.PcaiF talking through its note.) Noon, by the north clock! Noon, by the east ! High noon, too, by these hot sunbeams, which fall, scarcely aslope, wp. bn my head , nnd almost make the water bubble and smoke in the trough tinder my noso. ' Truly, we public characters havo a tough time of it ! Arid among all the town officers chosen at .March . meeting, vhcre is he that sustains, for a single year, the burthen of such manifold duties as are imposed, ia perpetuity upon the Town Pump. VJThe title of town treasurer1 is Hghtfully miue as guardian of he besttrca. b'uretlie town has. The overseers of tho poor, ought to meke me their chairman, ttince l provide bountifully for the pauper, without expense to him that pays taxes. I am at the head of the fire department, and one of the physicians to the board of health. As a keeper of the peace, all water-drink, era will confess mo equal to the conwtablo. I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating public notices, when they are posted on my front. To speak within bounds, I am thochicf person of the municipality, and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother jflico'rs, by the cool , 'steady; upright, downright and Impartial discharge of my business, and the ""constancy with which I stand to my post. Summer or winter, nobody seeks mo in vain ; fur all day long I am seen at the bu. siest corner, just above tho market, stretch, ing out my arms, to rich and to poor alike, and at night, I hold a lantern over my head, both to show where I am, and keep people out of the gutters. . At this sultry noontide, I am cupbearer to the parched populace, for whose benefit nn iron goblet is chained to my waist. Like a dram-suller on the strmll, at muster-day, Lory .aluud-ta AlLaad. sundry rittwy pUet nccents, anu at .tno tiptop ot my voice. Here it is, gentlemen. Here is the good li. quor. Walk up, walk up, gentlemen, walk up, walk up. Here is the superior stuff. Hero is the unadulterated ale of father Ad. amj better than Cogniac, Holland; JamaL ca, strong beer, or wine of any price ; here it is, by iho boirtilwad or tni'lo irtM and not a cent to pay ! .Walk up, gentlemen, walk up; and help yourselves. It wore a pity, if all this outcry should draw no customers. Hero they como.- A hot day, gentlemen!. Quaff, and awny aunm.soas to keep-yourselves in a nice cool sweat - You, my friend, will need an otlier cun full, to wash tho dust out of vour throat, if it be as thick thcro as it is on your cOwhido shoes ! I sec that you have trudged half a score of miles to-d;y 5 and like the wise man, hac passed by tho tav. eras, and stopped at tho running brooks . and ..wctlcurb.h Otherwise betwixt heat 'without and fire within, you would have . been burnt to a cinder, or melted dowtif to nothing at all, in the fashion oflhejelly fish. Drink and make room fojrthnt other-feU low, who seeks my aif to quench tho fifey fever eflastriight's potations, which he drained from no cup of mine'. Welcome most rubicund sir ! You and I have been -grcat strangers, hitherto nor, to confess the truth, will my noso be anxious for a closer intimacy, till .tho funics of your r w uiyuui mj u nine ivss puiuiiu . iui;n;jr uu you man. Tho water absolutely hisses down your red-hot gullet and is converted quite to steam, in, tho miniature tophet, which you mistake for '4. stomach. Fill again, and tell mo on the word of a. toper, did you everinacellor tavern, ortiny kind of a dram-shop ,jipcnu tho price of your child. renVfood , for a swig half so " delicious ? Now, for the first time theso . ten years, you know the flavor of cold water. Good. bye; and whenever you are thirsty, re number that I keep a coftstnnt'supplyat the 'old stand. Who ncxt? Oh, my little , rit?trd,' you aTefooSo from school, and come hither to scrub your blooming face, and Irown the rncrnory-of certain taps ofthc fi rule, and other scholboy troubles, in . a draught from the Town.Pump. ' Take -it, pure, as the current ,of your young . life. Take 1t, may your heart and tongue) never be scorched with a fiercer thirst than now. There, my dear child, put down the cup, and yield your place to this elderly gentle man , who -treads so tenderly over the- pa. ving stones, lhat I suspect he is ofraid of breaking them. What , hi limps by, with, out as much as thanking me, ns if my hos pitable offers were meant only tar people . who have no wine-cellars.' Well; well, sir no harm done, I hope." ' Go draw ' the cork, tip the decanter; but, when your great toe shall set you a roaring, it will bo no affair of mine. If gentlemen ove tho titil. Wlion of the gout, it is all one to the Town. Fmp. This thirsty-dog, with his red tongue lolling out, does not scorn my hospitality;-but sund on his hind logs, ond aps.eagerlyoutof tho trough. See how !;ghtry"ho Capers away again. Jowler, did your worship ever, have the gout 1 r: Are you alUatisficd ! Then wipe your nwuths, my good friends f and while my pout has a moment's leisure, I will delight the town with a few historical reminUcen. ceS. In far antinnitv. hrnn?tK Vn,l..A.- I F " m.-wtt snawuow of vcnerablo; boughs, a spring bubbled put or the . leat-strewn eartti, in the very spot where you now behold me, on the sunny pavement. The water was as bright and clear, and deemed as pre cious as liquid diamonds. , The Indian sa. gamores drank of itj from timo imtnumori al, till the fatal deluge of tlia fire.water burst uporUhoredjman.andjwcptlbx whole raco away from tho cold fountains. Endicott and his followers came next, and1 often knelt down to drink, dipping their long bcfads in the spring. Tho richest iroblct, then, was of birch bark. Governor Winthrop, after a journey on foot from Boston, drank here, out of tho hollow of his hand. The elder Iliggison wet his palm, and laid it on tho brow of the first town.born child. For many years, it was the wintcrinj place, and, as it were, the washbowl oftho vicinity whither all de cent folks resorted, to purify their visages ar.d gazo at them afterwards, at least the pretty maidens did in ...tho mirrorwliicbit made. Un Sabbutti days, whenever a babe was to bo baptized, the sexton filled his hi- sin here, and I placed it on the communion table of tho humble meeting house, which partly covered tho site of yonder stately brick one'.".-';-" "' ' ' Thus, one generation after another was consecrated to Heaven by its waters, and cast their waxing and waning shadows into its classv boAom, and vanished from earth, as if mortal life were but a flitting image in a fountain. Finally, tho fountain vanished also. Cellars were dug on all sides, and cart-loads of gravel flung upon its source, whence oozed a turbid stream, forming a mud.puddle at the corner of two streets. In hot months, when its refreshment was most needed, the dust flaw in clouds over the for. gotten birthplace of tho waters, now their grave. But, in the course of time, a Town rump was sunk into the source of the an. cicnt spring; and when the first decayed, another took its place ; ond then another, and still another ; till here stand I, gentle, men and ladies, to servo you with my iron goblet. Drink, and bo refreshed. The water is as pure and as cold as that which slaked the thirst of the red Sagamore, be neath tno aged boughs, though now the gem of the wilderness is treasured under these hot stones, where no shadow fulls, but from the brick buihlittg Andy-bo it thc-moTst of my story, that as this wasted and long. lost fountain is known and prized again, so shall tho virtues of cold water, too' little valued since your father's days, be rccog. nized by all. . Your pardon," good people! 1 must in terrupl my stream of eloquence, and spout forth a stream of water, to replenish the trough for this teamster and his two yoke of cfxen, who have come lrom lopsaeld or somewhere along that way. No part otmy business is plensanlcr than the watering of cattle. Look ! how rapidly they lower the watermark on tho side of tho trough, til their "capacious stomachs arc moisigtieu with a gallon it two apiece, aiujtfrey can afford to bredtho it in, with,sighs of calm enjoyment.' Now tlicfolKip their quiet eyes around tliobruu of their monstrous drinking-vesjid; .-An ox is your true toper. But 1 perceive mydear auditors, that you are impatient for the remainder of my dis courscf Impute it, I beseech you, to no defect of modesty, if I insist a little longer on so fruitful atopic ns my own multiiuri ous merits. It is altogether for your" own good. . The better you think of. mc, the better men and women you will find your selves. I shall say nothing of my all im portant aid on washing-days; though, on that occasion alone, I might call myself the household god of a hundred families. Far bo it from me. also, my respectable friends at the show ol dirty faces, which you Would present, without my pains to keep you clean. Nor will I remind you how often, when the midnight bulls make you tremblu for your combustible town, you havo fled to the Town Pump, and found mo always at my post, firm amid the confusion, and ready to drain my jitaJ. current in your' behalf. Neither is ft worth while to lay much stress on my claim" to a medical diploma, as the physician, whose simple rule of practice is preferable to njl the nauseous lore, which his found mcq sick er left them sorsincc-tho days of Hippocrates. Let us take a broad er view of my beneficial influence on man kind. No; these are trifles comparccTwitlrthe merits which wise mon concede to mc if not in my single self, yet as the representa tive of a class -to being tho granj reform. er of thc, ogcv-From my spout , ml such spouts rs mine, must flow the stream,- that shall cleans our earth of tho vast portion of its crime and anguish, winch ha3 gushed from the firej fountains of the still. In this mighty cnterprize,-the cow shall be my great confidence. Milk and 'water! The Town-Pump and the Cow! Such is the glo riouscopartnership, that shall tcardown the distilleriesand brewhouses uproot the vine, yards, shatter the cider presses, ruin the tea and coffee trado, and finally monopolize the whole business of quenching thirst. Blessed consummation! Then, Poverty shall pass away from tlie land, finding no hovel wretch ed, where her squalid form mar shelter its self. Then Disease, for lack of other vie. trms, shall gnaw its heart and die. Then-1 Sin, if she do not die, shall looso half her strength Until now, the phrensy of heredi ta'ry fever has raged in the human blood, transmitted from sire to son, and rekindled in every generation, by fresh draughts of liquid flame.' When that inward fire shall be extinguished, the heat of passion cannot but grow cool, and war the drunkenness of nations--perhaps will cease..-At least there will be no war of households. The husband and wife, drinking deep of peace ful joy a calm bliss of temperate affections shall pass hand in hand through life, and tie down not reluctantly, at its protracted close. To them the past will bo no turmoil of mad dreams, and thoiutiirean eternity 01 sucn moments as follow the deliriujnoQhe drunk ard. Their dead faces shall express what their spirits were, and are to be, by a ling erinff smile of memory and hope. Ahem! Dry work thi9 speechifying ; especially to an unpractised orator. 1 nev. er conceived, till now, what toil the temper anco lecturers undergo for my sake. Here, after,, thev shall have the business to them selves. Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two. iust to wet my whistle. ThaLk you sir ! My dear hearers-, when the world shall have been regenerated by my instrumentality, ydu will collect your :use- less vats and liquor casks into one great pile, andjiiako a bohfiroin honorof iho Xown Pump. And, when I shall have de cayed like iy predecessors then,- if you revere my memory, let a marbtu fountain, richly sculptured, take my place upon this spot, ouch monuments should be erected every wberey and inscribed with the flames ofthe distinguished champions of my cause. Now listen; for something very important is to come next : . . There are two or three honest friends of mine and true friends, I know they are who, nevertheless, by their fierce pugnacity in my behalf, do put mc in fearful hazard of a broken nose, or even of a total overthrow upon tho pavement, and the loss ofthe trea suro which I guard. I pray you gentlemen let this fault bo amended. Is it decent, think you, to get tipsy with zeal for tern perance, and take up the honorable cause of the I own Pump, in the stylo of a toper fighting for his brandy bottle ! Or, can the excellent qualities of cold water be no other. wis;) exemplified, than by plunging, slap dash .into, hot - water , , and wofully, ..scalding yourselves and other people T lrust mo they may. In the moral wariaro which you nro to wage, and indeed, in the whole con- duct of your livcsryoit cannot choose a bet tercxampio man myseit, who nave never permitted the dust, and sultry atmosphere, the turbulence and manifold disquietudes of the-wtmd flTormdme,--to rCTc calm well ot purity, which may be- called my sout. - And whenever I pour out that soul, it is to cool earth's fever or cleanse its stains. yuH" V.v.n. . aj , u:ii, .1 i.ra uny ujj.uo D,aB, (s w,ui mjr peace. Hero comes a young girl 61 my ac quaintance, with a largetpno pitcher for mo to fill. May she ..draWa husband, while drawing her wateiC-as Rachel did of old. Hold out yoop-Vessoi', my dear There it is full to the-bfnn ; so now run home, peep, ingjirour sweet image in the pitcher, as you cro ; and forget not, in a class. xf my own liquor, to urinK. bucckss to thb TowmPpmpP A Steamboat Scene. ' By way of 'eet-ofr1 to tho melancholy account of the stcambaut disaster on Lake Erie, wo insert tho following amusing sketch from the Boston Tost. '30nty;ihhikfaFaf'6TdLady7weigTiIng some two hundred and fifty pounds, wish ing .to be "blown vp" on board a steam boat ! Why, one Would think from her atiqilo dimensions, "that she had been alrea dy' blown, up" to a most unusual size. 1 he old Dame must belong to that class of unreasonable persons' of whom it is said, 'the more they have :: the more thev crave." . "After wo left the landing, the princi pal topic of conversation- among the pas. sengers was the numerous accidents which had happened. The old lady .who was in ordinately fat and one of McDonald Clarke's stylo of beauties "with a waist like a ctitton-bag, and a foot liko a flounder," and who , had narrow!y,escaped with her lifewhcn the Ben Sherrod was destroyed by firo a few years ago she. was evidently greatly excited and ill at ease all the time; Nearly every person was equipped with a life preserver, and some were so cautious as to hang them up in their berths filled with airnd-ready-fbr use at a moment's warning. Night" camo, "and alt were snug, ly ensconced in their berths, when there rose the Cry of firo ! Tho wood qn the bowfBoaf bad caught-fire and was bla. zing fiercely up, shining through the glass doors of the social hall and cabin windows untfl the whole boat Ecemed enveloped in La i sheet or name. In on instant all was con fuston and alarm. Passengers tumble out of their berths, and over one another ; some grasped their preserver some rati for their baggage some for their wives the wise orfes kept quiet. In the midst,of the hubbub, the doors ofthe lady's cabin flew wide open, and out burst one fat lady dress, cd all in white, her face "a map whereon terror was drawn in all its shapes," and around her waist a huge life preserver not inflated. Seizing this by tho nipple with both hands, sho rushed from one to another, excluimingin a voice of ngony, "blow me irp ! blow me vp ! ! for1 God's sake blow me vp ! vill nobody blow me vp! " Had the old lady actually exploded, I must have done as I did, roll on the floor in a fit of in extinguishable laughter, with half the wit nesses of the scene w for my r companions. The boat was stopped, the Jre cot under. and not the least difficult operation, the fat old lady's alarm" subdued. j The next day we landed her at ner place of destination. since wfcich time I have never seen her, but the reocllection or the scene has cost me many a fit of the side ache." 1 - Steamboats 00 the Mississippi. .' .. , -'. BT T. FLINT . . - .Theac Frantage of steamboats, great as it Is every where can no where be appre ciated as on the Mississippi. The distant points of tho Ohio and Mississippi used to be epdrated from New Orleans by an in. teraai obstrueUon4ar-flioreformidablo- in thepassing than tho Atlantic. If I may usa a hard word, they are now brought in. lojuxtaposition. To feel what an inven. tion this is for these regions, one must have sem and felt, as I have seen and felt, the difficulty and danger of forcing a boat ajainst the current of these mighty rivers, oi thich a progress of ten miles in a day isa good one. Indeed, theso huge unwiel djr boats, the barges in which a great pro portion of the articles from New Orleans uied to bo transported to tho upper country, nquired twenty or thirty hands to work llem. I have seen them, day after day, on tie lower portions of the Mississippi, rwhero" there was no other way of getting them up than carrying out a cable balf a mile Tn length, in advance of the barge, and fasten ing it to a tree, Tho hands on board then drew it up to. the tree. While this is trans acting, another yawl, still in advance of that, has ascended to a higher tree, and made another cable fast to it, to bo ready to be drawn upon as soon as tho first Is coil, cd." "This is the most dangerous and fa tiguing way of all, and six miles1 advance in a day is good progress. It is now refreshing; and imparts n feel, ing of energy and power to tho beholder, to seethe largo and beautiful steamboats scudding up the eddies, as though on the wing.nnd when they liuve runout tho ed. dy, strike the current. The foam bursts in a sheet quite over the deck. She quiv. ers for a moment with the concussion ; and then, cs though she had collected her encr. gyj and vanquished her enemy, sho resumes her stately march, and mounts against the 6rreBrffire,Br isrix'rriiles'ah1 hburV ' I have travelled in this way, for days together more than hundrod miles in a day, against the current ot tho Mississippi. The difficulty of ascendinflrosnd to the only circumstance of a Voyage-that was dreaded in tlw.anticipation.-Thi3 diffioul- ty now djsa.ppcdm Aajnily-ia-Tittabucg. wishes to make asocial visit to a kindred family oif Rccp Itiver." Tho trip is two thousand Lmiles. -They fill go together; thousandmiles. servants! baggaj or "plunder, as ... the ntirnon ia ti-i nnu nmntirtf Tn twnlvn nnv. they reuch the pyjnf proppSctl. t10 retui.n ,8 but a short voyagc. burcly tlie peoplo of tins country will have, tn resist strong temptations, if they do not become asocial people. You are invited to a break last at seventy miles distance, lougoon board the passing steamboat, and awake In tho morning in season for your oppoint ment. Tho day will probably come, when the Inhabitants ofthe warm and sickly re gions ofthe lower points of the Mississippi will take their periodical migrations to tho north with the geese and swans of the gulf, and with them return in tho winter A stranger to this mo,!e of travelling would find it difficult to describe his im- pressions upon .firsLslesqciidiiig ilic. jlissis sippi in ono ofthe better steamboats. He contemplates the prodigious establishment, with all its fitting of deck, " common, and ladies' cabin apartments. Over- head, -about him, ond below him, all is life and movement. He sees its splendid cabin, rich ly carpeted, its finishing of mahogany, its mirrors and fine furniture, jts elegant bar room, and sliding-tablcs, to which one hun dred passengers can sit down with comfort. The fare is sumptuous, and every thing in a style of splendor, order, quiet, and regu larity, far exceeding that of taverns in gen eral. You read, you eat, jou converse, you walk, you sleep, "M-you choose ; for custom has prescribed that every thing shall bo without much ceremony. I lie varied ana vcraant scenery smits around you , 1 .A ' 1 he trees, the green islands, have on ep pearancc,ns if by enchantment, of moving by you. The river-fowls, with tlwir white anif extended lines, arc-wheeling their flight above jou. Tlie sky is bright The river ii dotted with boats above you, beside, and below you. Tbu near the echo of their bu gles reverberating from the woods. Be hind the wooded point, vou see th ascend ing columu-of smokesiog above the trees, which announces that another steamboat is approaching you. lhis moving pngcantj glides through a narrow passage between tidmainlKr.JUjdua-iiland f tbiek-wrt with young cotton-wood, so even, so reg ular, and beautiful, that they seem tuHnrvc been planted for a pleasure ground. As you shoot out again into the broad stream, you come-in view of a plantation, with all its busy and cheerful accompani ments. At other times, you are sweeping along, for many leagues together, where cither shore isa boundless wilderness. And tho contrast', which is thus strongly forced upon the mind, of the highest improvement and latest invention of art, with the" most lonely aspect of a grand but desolate nature, tho most striking and complete assem blage of spl.endor.and comfort, the cheerful- ness of a floating hotel, which carries, per haps, two hundred guests ; with a wild and uninhabited forest, one hundred miles in width, the abode only of owls- bears, and noxious animals this strong contrast pro duces, to meat least, something ofthe same pleasant sensation that is produeea by lyi ing down tcsleep with the Tain pouring on me rooi, unraecuaieiy over neaa. Thunder can be heard at a distance of thirty mile. ; Dr. Ifott1s Advice to a pupil. The following letter, says the Albany Evening Journal, written pome years' tigo by the distinguisbdd President ofthe Union College to a graduate, who passed under the immediate eye and guardianship of Dr. Nott, ns he was about to take his seat in the legislature of the Statcy having- rallcrrTic. cidentally into oiir hands, we hope the wri tcr and the friend to whom it was written will pardon us for givi'nga wider rango to the golden rules conceived in obounding wisdom and expressed with such precision and compactness : , Union College, Jcnb 20, 1830. "Deab SiK-r-Sincc I did not find you in tho other day when I called, the interest I feci in your success as a public man. will be my apology for troubling you with a few observations, the observance of which may be of some uso. "Do not speak pftcrf, and only on Im portant occasions. When you do speak brief, pertinent, and stop whea-yuu have finished. Spenk rather in the furiheranco of your own objects than in defeating those of others. Endeavor to allay the prejudi ces which naturally exist between the city and the country. Bj curtcous on all occa. sions, especially in debate and to yourim. mediate antagonists. Never indulgo in personalities, never lose your temper nor make nn enemy if you can avoid it. Con quests may bo made by conciliation and persuasion as certainly as by ridicule and sarcasm, but in the one case the chains are silken and sit easy -in the other iron, and gall the wearer. ' ' "Though you point your arrows, never poison them ; and if the club of llercula must be raised ,r let it bo the naked clubfoot entwined with serpents. ' "Theso arj hii)t,nierclyybu't a word to the wiso is sufficient. Jih with legisla tors brothers, a maaJeeds to livo ono life to know how tcviti another, and since this cannot bedono literally, wo can only do it in ctloet by availing ourselves ol the cxpe- cc of others. Wishins vou every success, I am. in haotc, very sincerely yours, ELIPII ALET NOTT." all know, may be listened toor disregarded J and in tins habit has greatlnfluencc The following story, from the Juvenile M'.sccl- lunv. illustrates this. "A lady who found it difficult to awake so early us she desired in tho mbrningpur- chased an alarm watch, 'lhis kind of watch is so contiivod as to strike with ft very loud whizzing noise ut any timo the owner pleases. Tho lady placed tho watch at 'the hsad oftho bed, and, at the appoint cd time, she fonnd herselfcffectually arous. cd by the bud rattling sound. She imme diately obeyed the summons, nnd felt 'the better all day for Ijcr pearly ...rising, .This continued forsevcral weeks. Tho alarm watch fuihfu'ly performed its office, and was distinctly lieard so long as it was promptly obeyed. But, after a time the la dy grew tired of early rising, and, when awakened by the noisy monitor, merely turned hcHclfand slept nwtin. In n - few days, tlicf watclL ceased to n rouse her from slumber. It spoke just us lotuliy us ever, but she did not hear it, because she acquired tlie habit -f -disobey ing ft. Finding lhat sho might just as well bo .without an -alarm-wjttch, she formed the wise resolution, that, if she ever heard tho sound again, she would jump up instatly, and she would never allow herself to disobey tho friendly warn ing." ' - - Just so it is with conscience. If we obey its dictates, even to fhc most trifling parti culars, wo always hear its voice clear and strong. But if wc allow ourselves to do what we fi.ar is not quite .-right, wo shall grow more and more sleepy until tho voice of conscience has no longer any power. Fireside Education. t - Softr.ows -or Old BAtfinEoifs. Wc'hcvl cr could, for tho life of us, perceive why old maids should manifest such a mortal an lipathy to old bachelors. There is no rea son in their wrath. TiV spiteful, cruel." and uncalled for ; the trampling on a reed already broken. It is like flagging a crip ple with his own cruttUes, becuuso he is Uauic-F-tiw meagre bachelo rj of their own freewill. (0 to the veriest" misanthrope among them, and ask ol him his history. and he will tell you of tho unforotten 4MMi-ui-w'eiTnj nneciions ; and Ins rye 1.-..- .f l.r 1 . 7-:: V-V r " v. ..... i y iuiv.i.iiuiii , mill ins -yu will fight up again with its wonted cner-y. 1 nnd ns he relates the storyjr.f his love' fori one wno nau proven Jaithless, or whoso affections were represented by the rude hand of arbitrary authority, or who had t i j gone down to the churchyard a beautiful bud plucked lrom the tree of Being, to open nnd expand in a birghter and holler sun- shine, where no worm could gnaw ot tier bosom, and no blighting descend upon it. Talk not to us of the sorrows of old maids ! They arc light in comparison to thoso of bachelors the patter of the small rain to the overwhelming of the deluge. " Old maids can commune together, and minsle in therchanties and kindly offices, and sympa- lAnu uw;. i ia uui BJ Willi IflB bachelor. He has no home he has no happy fireside no child to askJbis blessing -i-no beautiful creaturer of -smiles the gentle tones to welcome his coming,,, and rnelt away the sternness of care with the warm kiss of affection no patient watcher at the couch of sickness, stealing with - a huthed and gentle step around him, like the visita. tion-of a spirit True-bis sorrows are somewhat' of a nceatire character. Bat tpen what ia it Bate positive agony, for him to gaze, all his life long, upon the Paradise of Matrimony, tike a half starved school bVjr upon tho garden" whose enclosure he cannot scale T , ..... " Newspaper Criticism. A lecture dei riveTed" by Rer;-Gca3Tge"Poi0rl)rbefoio" the mercantile Li!irary Associartph df New York, has just been published. It is on tho subject of popular reading. Wo had thti pleasure of hearing itjast winter and at tho tinic recommending its publication. Thcro is point in tho passage below. .. Speaking of newspaper criticism, Dr. P. says: ' It is sometimes judicious, but often flip pant and worthless ; conveying praiso of censure in phraseology which has becomo amusingly uniform. It often mistakes abuso for satire, und pertnessfor ability. It wants the knowledge, taste, and discrimi nation necessary to form an ablo '..tritic Worse thaii all wb fear that it is often venal: Book-makers, publishers, and critics have been sbmetiriies charged, ancT we Tear with, justice, of entering into a conspiracy of self ish interests to pass off certain productions upon the public by a corrupt system of pufc fing and bolstering: Of somo critical no tices, the key of their eulogistic character is the presentation ofthe work by the author or publisher. This is a sort of sop id Ger bcrusj'to wiri & favorable notice or to bribe silence. Readers that portion of them, at least who are in thotmbil of taking their cue" from qthersana who are not In the se cret are thuidlu red to buy; and vapid i ephemeralTand often demoralizing stuff is throwninto the nublic mind. In a word to larvery large portion ofthe day, tho satire of Young is justly applicable,. " One judges as tho weather dictates ; right The poem in at noon: and wrong at night . Another judges by b surer gage An author' principles or purontugei ,' Since his great it nccHtors in Flanuors fell, Doubllcsn l!io work Is wriltcn'very well. Another judges by tho author's look; Anotiier for tho author sent itis book Somo judge, their knackof judging wrong to keep. SomejudgR, bacait90 itis too soon to sloop. Critics liko these, as squibs on triumphs wait, Procluim tho glory and augmont tho statoi Conceited, noisy, hot, theso scribling. fry, -Hum, liis;nd bounce waste puper and thsndiot -XYiOerrer. , : , No time to read. We havo oftbri ctU countered men who profess to believe they havo 'no timo to read.' Now wo.think of it, there have always been men of such characters, the points of which are easily summed up. Nie times out often they aro men who : have not found time to confer any substan tial advantage either upon llii'ir families or themselves. They generally havo time to go to clot tions, attend public burbacucs, camp meet! ings, sales, and singing schools but the have 'no time to read.' They frequently spend whole days irt gossipping, tippling, and swapping horses, but they have 'no timo to read.' They sometimes looso a day asking "ad vice of their neighbors; sometimes a daf in picking up the news, the prices current; and the i exchange but these nien never linve'timc to read.' They have timo to hunt, to fish, to fid. dh1, to driiik,jo--,do nothing ;'but Jjio tini3to read.' "SjcirmciT ".neraTIy have uneducated children, unimproved farms, nnd unlmppy firesides. Ihey have no energy, no spirit of improvement,, no love of knowledgo ; they live-'unknowing and unknown ; aud often die unwept and unregrettcd. I H.tVE NO TIME TO " STUDY. TllQ icleA nboutjho want of time is a nlcro phantom: Franklin found time in the midst of all his labors Tardive into the" hidden-rcccssei- of philosophy, and to explore ah untrodden path of science". Tho great Frederick with an cmpiro at his direction, io tho midst of wnr on the eve of battles which wcrer td' decide the fate of his kingdom, found tiind to revel in all thccharms of philosophy and intellectual pleasure." Dnnparto with Kings in his anti-chamber ' begging for thrones wIHi-iTioTmnds whoso destinies were suspended on iIki brittle thread of hii arbitrary pleasure; had time td 'conversii with books ' - 1 ". . ' .". , . 1 " Ctpsar when he had curbed tho spirit of the Roman people, and was thronged with visiters from tho remotest kingdoms,. found ti mo foriintcHectiinnCTltfTatTonv- Iiverv . . . , t',mC ; .,f t C"orul to ,mj''?ve 'l ".r ns U? n"Sht' 1,3 caa rcnP a A"' fold reward. Let mechanics then make use of tho hours at their disbosnl if they want to ob. taiaa proper ipfluencc in society. They are the life-blood of tho community ; they can if they ph-aso hold in their hands thd dc8tinicsrf tho republic ; they are nume. rous, respectably and powerful ; and they have only to be educated ha.If as well a other professions to make laws for the oa. tion. . 7 . . . Every man has timo td study. If fat mcfsnnd mechinicg yes, and merchants too, would devote the one half of the tirfld at their disposal to study, they would Toap a rich reward. Let theni then betake them, selves to industry, ami devote more of their time to study and the' acquisition of useful knowledge, and not o much . to Un profitable amusements. There aro very few whoeajonot daily spend twoi houra for mental cultivation; if they would do eveo this t how much more extenaivn would .o their information,- and how much greater their influence in society. p . ii. -. -, 4- I, 1 - 1 r T'
Highland Messenger (Asheville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 10, 1841, edition 1
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