n
The Muse! whate'erthe Muse inspires;,
My soul the tuneful strain admires.. ..scott.
Three things a good wife should be like, vfdeh three
tldnqrs she should not be like.
A "wife domestic, good, and pure,
Like sxail, should keep within her door ;
But not like Sxail, in silverM track,
Place all her wealth upon her back.
A "wife should be like echo true,
And speak, but when she's spoken too ;
But not like Echo still be heard,
Contending' for the final word.
like a towx clock a wife should be
Keep time and regularity ;
13ut not like Clocks harangue so clear,
That ail the town her voice may hear.
Young man ! if these illusions strike
She whom as bride you'd hail,
Must just be like, and just unlike
An Echo, Clock, and Snail.
vr. m.
JBath, CBng.J Aug. 5, 1806.
J'.liLV. FROM CAMOENS-.
I saw the virtuous man contend
"With life's unnumbered woes,
And he was poor without a friend,
PrcssM bv a thousand foes.
I saw, too, Fassion's pliant slave,
In gallant time and gay ;
His course was pleasure's passive wave,
Ilis life a summer's day.
And I was caught in Folly's snare,
And joined her giddy train ;
But found her soon the nurse of care,
And punishment and pain.
There surely is some guiding power,
"Which rightly suffers wrong,
Gives Vice to bloom its little hour,
But Virtue late and long.
TAteTcaty "Extracts, &c
Variety's the very spice of life,
That gives it all its flavor.
FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN.
GEVTLrttEX : The following " Thoughts m At
inospheric Iutt" by C. S. RiFiNEsaric, Esq. Pro
fessor of Botany and Natural History in the Tran
sylvania University, Sec. are extracted from that
estimable work, Silliman's Journal of Science.
A subject so curious, and so well treated, can
hardly fail to interest many of your speculative
readers ; and there are few observers, I presume,
however careless, whose attention has not been
arrested by this phenomenon ; yet 1 do not recol
lect any where before, to have met with a ra
tional theory of it. To me, it appears in no res
pect less plausible than Reynold's Theory of Jfe
:eors, which supposes them to" be portions of
earthy and metallic compounds volatilized by the
absorption of heat, and thereby assuming the
stale of elastic fluids, and expanding until they
arrive at media of their own density : that they
probably ascend at first in small daily detached
portions of gaseous clouds, and are diffused over
wide regions; but having no sensible resistance
opposed to their mutual attraction, they will, by
the laws of their affinities, congregate hito im
mense volumes of highly elastic fluids, which,
on exploding, will exhibit all the phenomena of
bursting meteors. The earthy and metallic par
ticles, on the escape of caloric, he says, will obey
the laws of cohesive attraction, clash together,
recover their gravity, and descend to the earth
in masses and shattered fragments. V.
V." will oblige us by forwarding to us
Reynold's Theory of Meteors." Wc shall be
will-ng, at all times, to devote a portion of our
paper to scientifical subjects, either original or
selected. " V." has our acknowledgments for
his present favor. emtoks.
thoughts o.v atmospheric jjust.
BT C. S. RAFINESQ.UE, Efet.
1. c When we find the ruins of ancient
cities buried under ground ; when the
plough uncovers the front of palaces and
the summit of old temples, we are aston
ished : but we seldom reflect why they
are hidden in the earth. A sort of im
perceptible dust falls at all times from the
atmosphere, and it has covered them dur
ing ages."
2. ' These are the words of the worthy
and eloquent philosopher Viuf.y, in his
article Nature, Vol. XV. p. 373, of the
French Dictionary of Natural History.
Kven before reading them I had observed
the same phenomenon, ind I have since
studied their effects in various places. I
could quote one thousand instances of the
extensive and multifarious operations of
this meteoric dust : but I mean to give
the results merely of those that fall daily
under notice, and are yet totally neglect
ed ; wishing to draw on them the atten
tion of chemists, philosophers and geolo
gists. 3. Whenever the sun shines in a dark
room, its beams display a crowd of lucid
dusty molecules of various shapes, which
were before invisible as the air in whish
they swim, but did exist nevertheless.
These form the atmospheric dust ; exist
ing every where in the lower strata of our
atmosphere. I have observed it on the
top of the highest mountains, on Mount
Ktna, in Sicily, on the Aips, on the Alle
gany and Catskill mountains in America,
Sec. and on the ocean.
4. It deserves to be considered under
many views ; which are its invisibility, its
shape and size, its formation and. origin,
its motion, its deposition and accumula
tion, its composition, its use, and its prop
erties. 5. This dust is invisible, owing to the
tenuity of its particles, but they become
visible in the following instances ; when
the sun shines on them, since they reflect
the light, when their size is increased,
and when they arc accumulated any where.
6. The size of the particles is very un
equal, and their shape dissimilar ; the
greatest portion are exceedingly small,
similar to a whitish or grayish spark, with
out any determination or perceptible
shape ; the larger particles are commonly
lamellar or flattened, but with an irregu
lar margin, and the largest appear to be
lengthened or filiform ; the gr;y colour
prevails. Other shapes arc now and then
perceptible with the microscope.
7. Among the properties of atmospher
ic dust are those of being soft, as light as
atmospheric air, of reflecting the rays re
ceived directly from the sun, of possess
ing a kind of peculiar electricity, which
gives it a tendency to accumulate on some
bodies more readily than on some others,
and of forming an earthy sediment,
which does not become effervescent with
acids.
8. This dust is cither constantly or pe
riodically formed, but chemically in the
atmosphere like snow, hail, meteoric
stones, honey-dew, earthy rains, Sec by
the combination of gaseous and elemen
tary particles dissolved in the air. Its
analysis has never been attempted by
chemists ; but the earthy sediment which
is the result of its accumulated deposition,
proves that it is a compound of earthy
particles in a peculiar state of aggregation,
and in which aluminc appears to prepon
derate, rather than calcareous or silicious
earths or oxides.
9. Its motion in calm weather, or in a
quiet room, is very slow ; the particles ap
pear to float in the air in all directions,
some rising, some falling, and many swim
ming horizontally, or forming a variety of
curved lines ; what is most singular, is
that no two particles appear to have exact
ly the same direction ; yet after awhile
the greatest proportion fall down oblique
ly, somewhat in the same manner as a
light snow in a calm day. When a cur
rent of air is created naturally or artifi
cially in the open air or in a room, you
perceive at once an increased velocity in
their motion ; they move with rapidity in
all directions ; but when a strong current
or wind prevails, they are carried with it
in a stream, preserving however, as yet,
their irregular up and down motion.
10. Its formation is sometimes very
rapid, and its accumulation very thick in
the lower strata of our atmosphere, but
the intensity is variable. Whenever rain
or snow falls, this dust is precipitated on !
the ground by it, whence arises the puri
ty of the air after rain and snow ; but a
small share is still left, or soon after form
ed. In common weather it deposits itself
on the ground by slow degrees, and the
same in closed rooms. It forms then the
dust of our floors, the mould of our roofs,
and ultimately the surface of our soil, un
less driven by winds from one place to an
other. 1 I. I have measured its accumulation
in a quiet room, and have found it variable
from one-fourth of an inch to one inch in
the course of one year ; but it was then
in a pulverulent fleecy state, and might
be reduced by compression to one-third of
its height, making the average of yearly
deposit about one-sixth of an inch. In
the open air this quantity must be still
more variable, owing to the quantities
carried by the winds and waters to the
plains, valleys, rivers, the sea, Sec. or ac
cumulated in closed places or against
walls, houses, Sec. I calculate, however,
that upon an average, from six to twelve
inches are accumulated over the ground
in one hundred years, where it mixes with
the soil and organic exuviic, to form the
common mould.
12. The uses of this chronic meteor
are many and obvious. It serves to create
mould over rocks, to increase their de
composition, to add to our cultivable soil,
to amalgamate the alluvial and' organic
deposits, to fertilize sandy and unfruitful
tracts in the course of time, to administer
to vegetable life, Sec. It does not appear
that it has any bad influence on men and
animals breathing it along with the air,
unless it should be accumulated in a very
intense degree.
1 3. At Segesta, in Sicily, are to be seen
the ruins of an ancient temple ; the steps,
which surround it on all sides below the
pillars, arc built on a rock, on the top of
a hill detached from any other higher
ground. Yet now all the steps and the
base of the pillars are under the ground,
which has accumulated from this dust and
the decay of plants (not trees) to which
it has afforded food. There are from five
to eight feet from the rock to the surface
of this nevr soil, which has chemically
combined in a variety of hardness. This
has arisen there in about 2000 years, not
withstanding the washings of rain. I
quote this as a remarkable instance of the
increase of soil by aerial deposits, among
many which have fallen under my personal
examination.
14. It is commonly believed that the
dust of our rooms is produced by the frag
ments of decomposed vestments, bed
dings, furnitures, Sec. ; this cause increas
es it, and produces a different dust, which
mixes with the atmospheric dust ; but it
is very far from producing it.
15. The dust of the open air is ascrib
ed to that raised from roads and fields, by
the pulverization of their surface ; but
this secondary and visible dust is only a
consequence of the first. From whence
could arise the dust observed by the means
of the sunbeams in a dark corner, in win
ter, when the ground is frozen, or when
it is wet and muddy, or at sea, or on the
top of rocky mountains ?
16. It is therefore a matter of fact, worth
taking into consideration by geologists,
that the air still deposits a quantity of dust,
which must have been much greater in
former periods. Just the same as the sea
deposits still a quantity of earthy and sa
line particles dissolved in it, and which
were superabundant at the period when
the rocky strata were formed on its bot
tom. Water being more compact, depos
its rocks. Air, which is less dense, de
posits a pulverulent matter !
Why the Negro bears heat better than a White
man.
This is a phenomenon which has giv
en rise to considerable discussion. The
fact is undoubted and what has made
it more surprising is the fact, that black
surfaces exposed to the sun's rays re
flect more heat than white surfaces : as
is evinced by Dr. Franklin's famous
experiment of different coloured cloths
being spread on the snow. The black
would sink into the snow, while the
white would scarcely dissolve any part
of it.
Sir Everard Home has presented a
paper to the Royal Society of London,
giving certain experiments upon the
matter. Expose the back of your hand
to the sun's rays if the hand be cov
ered with thin white linen, it becomes
irritated and inflamed freckles first
appear, and these are followed by a
vesicular separation of the cuticle.
Cover the hand, however, with black
crape, and though the temperature ex
ceed that produced upon the bare skin,
yet there is no scorching or blistering
of the 'hand. It thus appears, says
Sir Everard, that the deleterious effects
of the sun's rays are prevented by an
artificial blackening of the surface of
the skin. The perspiration becomes
more copious, as is especially remarked
in the negro and in short, that the
conversions of the radiant matter of
the sun into sensible heat, which con
version is effected by the black surface,
tends to prevent the scorching effects,
and to promote the cuticular secretion.
It is, in fact, because a greater perspi
ration is in some way or other produ
ced by the influence of the black sub
stance in the skin of the negro, and be
cause, when this perspiration evapor
ates, it carries with it, as in all other ca
ses of evaporation, the caloric or heat,
that the black man is so much better
able to stand heat. This is also the
principal cause of the strong effluvium
which distinguishes the race.
Richmond Compiler.
From the Winchester Republican.
EXTRACT FROM A JOURNAL.
During the winter of 1820, I made one
of a party in an excursion to Harpcr's-Fer-ry.
It was an intensely cold and calm
morning. The snow had previously fall
en to a considerable depth, and only re
fracted the borrowed light of the cloud
less arch of heaven. My companions
seemed wrapt in contemplation. The
mind naturally accommodates itself to a
frame which the situation of the surround
ing objects is calculated to inspire ; and I
could not refrain from surrendering my
self up to the reflections which insensi
bly crowded upon me. I continued in
my reverie, until aroused by the driver's
horn, which indicated our approach to a
village. Wc soon found this to be the
case ; for after ascending a little rising
ground, we were almost literally over a
few scattered houses that gradually de
scended to the liver's edge. This was
Harper's-Ferry. " The cock's shrill cla
rion" had not yet proclaimed the ap
proaching day. Not a sound disturbed
the general silence, save that of the dri
ver's bugle, reverberating from the sur
rounding hills. The grand display of na
ture's sublimest workmanship impressed
my mind with sensations which I am un
able to describe, but can never forget.
The confluence of the Shenandoah and
the Potomac the appearance of two
large ridges of mountains verging to a
point ; their rugged and nearly perpen
dicular sides covered with snow and ice
the immense rocks which jut out of the
hills, and hang in awful grandeur immedi
ately over the head of the traveller, who
considers himself in danger of instant
destruction the roaring of the angry wa
ters, as they
" Boil and wheel and foam,
" And thunder through
these things, together with the beautiful
and extended valley which presents- it
self immediately on crossing the river,
and thro which the united waters form
their meandering channel, conspired to
form a more awfully grand and truly sub
lime view than I had ever before beheld.
There surely (I thought) can be no pla.ee
better calculated to display the mighty
power of that God who forms all things
according to the counsels of his own will.
From every appearance, a traveller is
led to conclude that these mountains have
been gradually worn away by the river to
their present level. If this be the case,
the whole country from Winchester to
Harper's-Ferry must once have formed
one immense body of fresh water, the
whole of which was perhaps precipitated
by one outlet over the Blue Ridge, thus
forming a rival to the justly celebrated
Fails of Niagara. Were a u warrior of
the forest," who has now gone to the land
of spirits, to arise, with what astonishment
would he view those mountains, where he
was wont to hunt, parted by that body of
waters whose tremendous thunjler was
calculated to fill the mind even of an un
lettered savage with solemn awe, and to
have impressed upon his soul an indelible
knowledge of the Great Creator. And
with what pleasing amazement would he
behold the bottom of that lake, over the
surface of which he had so frequently
paddled his canoe, now filled with the hab
itations of men.
These are a few of the reflections, which
a view of that great natural curiosity (the
sight of which, says Mr. Jefferson, is
worth a voyage across the Atlantic O
cean) impressed upon the mind of
A TRAVELLER.
THE ALOE.
Mr. Henry Pratt,. of Philadelphia, has
presented to the Orphan Asylum of that
city, the Grand American Aloe, which is
expected to flower during the present
summer. This plant is seldom exhibited
in blossom two in Charleston and two in
Philadelphia, are said to be the only in
stances in this country. The American
Aloe flowered in 1804, at Wm. Hamil
ton's, near Philadelphia. The first flower
appeared in August, and continued be
tween five and six weeks. From the first
appearance of the flower stem, till it be
gan to branch, the stem was 8 feet 4 in
ches ; from the stem, it shot out 2T lateral
or side branches, each branch containing
116 flowers of a herbaceous colour; the
circumference of the stem was 18 inches ;
side branches 18 inches long from the
base ; the plant 5 feet high to the top of
the leaves; each leaf would bear a man s
weight 12 inches from the base of the
plant. It began to start its flower stem
on the 28th of May, in the appearance of
an asparagus shoot, and retained that like
ness till in flower. It was procured as a
young sucker from the Agave Americana,
that flowered at Springberry, in 1777.
From the 28th May to the 4th June, it
grew 3 feet. It has grown 7 inches m 24
hours. It is generally believed that it
takes a century to flower ; but this plant
of Mr. Hamilton's was only 43 years old.
When it is done flowering it dies.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE.
' The pleasantest part of a man's life
is that which passes in courtship
L.ove, desire, hope, and all the pleas
ing motions of the soul arise in the
pursuit. An artful man is more like
ly to succeed than the sincere lover.
The lover hath ten thousand griefs,
impertinences, and resentments, which
render a man unamiable, and often ri
diculous. Where the choice is left to
friends, the chief point is an Estate:
Where the persons choose for them
selves, their thoughts turn upon the
person. The first would provide for
the conveniences of life ; the others
are preparing for a perpetual feast.
An agreeable woman is preferable to a
perfect beauty. Good nature and e
venness of temper will give you an ea
sy companion for life ; virtue and
good sense, an agreeable friend; Love
and constancy, a good wife or husband.
Of all disparities, that, in Humour
makes the most unhappy marriages,
yet scarce enters our thoughts in con
tracting them.
Before marriage, we cannot be too
inquisitive and discerning in the faults
of the person beloved, nor after it too
dimsighted and superficial. Mar
riage enlarges the scene of our happi
ness or misery. A marriage of love
is pleas a?it ; of interest, easy; and
where both meet, happy, but happy on
ly to those who tread the paths of 'life
together in a constant uniform course
of virtue.
EPIGIlA3r.
For lightness, what with feathers can compare ?
The dust is lighter lighter still the air ;
Than air more light the female, race we find,
Whose levity doth leave all else behind.
TRACT.
There is mv illusion in that appa
rent glory wK Wealth and honour
seem to throround the sinner.
None but a nde will estimate
man's happinessVy the extent of his
possessions. Sofluon'is'iiot the only
one who has seenrid kept for the own
ers thereof to tKrurt. What were
crowns and kineloris worth, if they
must be held by ch a tenure ? And
yet by such a tenW, many an envied
profligate holds atever of wealth
and honour he possSes. In vain he
strives to conceal is misery. He
smiles and smiles, bu'fis still accursed.
This is one of thevays in which
God in his inscrutable providence, and
notwithstanding , appearvnees to the
contrary, distinguishes te righteous
from the wicked. To the former,
though he gives sparingly, he gives mv
mercy, and it becomes a double ,bVcrss
ing. To the latter he gives bbuntiful
ly, but he gives in wrath, and it proves,
a curse. Hence the favourites of the
world are forever repining at their lot
And well they may repine at it. For
every addition to unsanctified wealth
only corrodes the heart with new cares
and agitates the bosom with new de
sires. This is not exaggeration. I
appeal to fact. Long and often has
the experiment been tried. Among
those prayerless sinners whom so ma
ny have accounted happy, wealth has
been distributed. But with what ef
fect Has ambition any where been
satisfied? or has avarice ever beer;
heard to say it is enough ? Io : never.
On the contrary, bothf hungry as the
grave, cry give give: And God
does give. But still the cry is repea
ted, and wrill continue to be repeated,
till death stifles it ; for it is prompted
by an appetite that is never satiated,
and by a thirst that is never quenched.
Selfishnes-s may possess the world,
; but benei-olence only can enjoy it.
Better is a dry morsel with contentment
I than a house full of sacrifices zvith
strife. It is not the flocks that a man
i numbers ; the slaves he commands, or
tne domains which he calls his own :
It is not the palace he inhabits, the
crown on his head or the sceptre in his
hand ; but the amount of blessedness
he derives from them, that is to be ta
ken into the account, in ascertaining
whether mercy or vengeance be the
predominant feature of his lot. The
devout eye, that only glances, in pass
ing over the fields, and groves, and
gardens, which display so many and
such enticing beauties around some li
centious court or inhospitable mansion
house, often derives more happiness
from the scene, than is ever derived
from it by the graceless and haughty
owner.
There is a beclouding and a benumb
ing influence in sin. It destroys the
sensibility ; it perverts the "taste, and
sheds over the intellectual and moral
eve a sombrous and a sickly light, in
which heaven, and earth, and nature,
and art, appear alike dim and gloryless
No providence is seen ; no parent's
love is recognized ; no pulse of joy ;
no throb of gratitude is felt. A dis
mal ennui consumes the solitary hour,
and even the social revel is but heart
less affectation and mimic mirth.
O God ! it is by prosperity that thou
dost inflict upon the wicked thy strange
vengeance. Their bane is the mercies
which they receive but acknowledge
not and not acknowledging them,
they cease to be mercies. It was
ordained of old that it should be so,
and so it is, That virtue enjoys mora
even of this world in rags and cotta
ges, than vice dees in robes and courts ;
and it wrere better, hell and heaven out of
the question, to subsist like Lazarus oit
crumbs sweetened by submission, than
to revel at luxurious banquets with
Dives and his faithless guests.
DR. NOTT.
The Rev. Mr. Thompson, a Mission
ary at Madras, after giving a very favora
ble report ot the state ot Missions to
South India, concludes a letter thus : v
" The mountains are sensibly melting
before us, casts and separating prejudices
are Riving way on all sides, Christians
and Heathens meet as they never did be
fore, and what shall prevent the full en
joyment of the blessed hope, that if only
we yet persevere in faith and patience,
the day is not very distant when all these
nations, these myriads of Indians, shall
flow together to the house of our God ?"
The sun should not set upon our anger, neither
should he rise upon our confidence. We should
forgive freely, but forget rarely. I will not be
revenged, and this I owe to my enemy ; bv.t I
will remember, and this I owe to myself.