North Carolina Newspapers

.V J. SENTINEL AND NEWBORN COMMERCIAL, AGRICULTURAL AND LITERARY INTELLIGENCER NORTH CAROLINA 'i '1' .4 9 .vl k ,t- t ! THE SUPPER SUPERSTITION"? C BY THOMAS HOOD f ;)Twa twelve o'clock by Chelsea chimes, When all in hungry trim, - Good Mister Jupp sat down to sup With wife, and Kate,, and Jim. Said he. 1 upon this dainty cod How bravely I shall sup' When, waiter than a table cloth, ? ' i A ghost came rising up i 0, father dear, O, mother dear, j i . Dear Kate and brother Jim You knorr when some one went to sea Don't cry rbut I am him. . You hope some day with fond embrace To geet your absent Jack; But,- oh, I am come here to say f Pm never coming back! f ; j- . - ' ; - . 'Frdm Alexandria we set sail, ' i : With corn, and Oil, and figs : 1 r But steering too much Sow', we struck " Upon the Sow1 and Pigs I i " ! The ship we pump'd till we could see, r Old England from the tops ; i When down she went .with all our hands, Right in the channel's chops ! Just give k look in Norey's chart, ' -! The very place it tells ; i ? I think it says twelve'fathoms deep, J. r r Clay bottom, mixed with shells; j Well, there we are tilt'hands aloft,' ' ' - We have at last a call, - The pug I had for brother Jim, Kate's parrot, too, and all. ' ? ' . - i f ' But ohl my spirit cannot rest ' .In Davy Jones's sod, .-. 'I'll!; I appeared to you and said j Don't sup on that ere cod ! : " j You live on land ; and little think j It What passes in the sea; i Last Sunday week, at 2 P. M., - ! That cod was picking me! ' - k ' Those oysters, too,.that look so plump ' ' r And seem so nicelyxlone, v '"iTney-put my 'cbrin'many shells, ?.' 'A Instead of only one. i , i O, do not eat' those oysters then, And do not touch the shrimps ; I When I was in my briny grave They suck'd my blood like imps : . Don't eat what brutes woild never eat, , The brutes I used to pat; ' They'll knov the smell. they used to smell Just try the dog and cat! The spirit fled they wept his fate, ' ' And cried, alack, alack:' At last up started brother, Jim . . Let's try if Jack was Jack'.' - ,. ' They called the-dog, they called the cat, And little kitten too; - And down they put the cod and sauce, To see what brute could do. - - " , Old rr ray linked all the oysters up, ; . Puss never stood at crimps, . I -. But munched the cod and little Kit . Cluite feasted on the shrimps ! , The thing was odd, and minus cod And sauce they stood like posts: : 0,Tprudeht folks, for fear of hoax, -t iut no belief in ghosts I" . j"" TromlackwooiVs Magazine . SPECOIES OV THE ITALIAN ART OF ; ' HOAXING. , 'How Brother Peter, (a Priest of Sienne.) in , tend if ig to 'hoax a Florentine clerk, wasrhimself hoaxed lyy the' I ' lorentine, in such, a manner mat it cost him his life. l If the -wits and humourists of Florence were ac- customed not to spare one another in the pursuit of any good practical joke, it. -will readily be believed, ithat they were not inore' scrupulous in the perform 'ance, when the citizen of a rich republic was fated to be the butt of their ridicule and, last of all, when (the ill-starred object had rendered himself obnoxious (as the Siennese were considered peculiarly apt "to do) by acts of personal oppression. ' In Prato, a fair and honourable city of. Tuscany, there Uved (not long ago) 'one Master Mico da Sien- 'naj Prior 'of the Convent or Pieve, writh whom dwelt his nephew, who was also a clerk, (although so young as not; to be in priest's robes,) and wTho kept ! under him a curate to perform the services of the church T and sacristy ; who, being a natiVe of Flo- rence, Was generally known by the appellation of The Florentine." , 1 his last mentioned personage although himself young in years, was, ne vertheless, very shrewd, and somewhat maliciousin temper, insomuch that he, was engaged in perpetual feud and litjgation wifh Master Peter, (the nephew,) - which was hot a .little displeasing to -the worthy Prior, and would have given twenty times occasion for his. dismissal, if he had not been tbund feousefulin ; his station, as hot to be patted with for a trifle ; al though, at the same time, .his great services did not .prevent f lis worthy master from pluming himself on his superior rank, and treating him with jxmtemptu- ous insolence proportioned to what he considered the . : diflerence between their conditions. ?: Now, Master Peter, who had nothing so much at , . heart as to play a trick upon the Florentine, one day i i : . . . r, if 2u 7 unaing a goou uppuiLiuiii uiiuriuseu iur uie purpose, v I resolved to avail himseh of it that very night: and v so, as soon as tlie supper was over, and all the house hold retired to sleep, he stole 'softly out ot his cham- ; . ber, f wliich'was adjoining his uncle's) and went info f tnexnurcn, wnere mey xiaa inai morning lnierrea a girl who had died, after a six hours' illness, of eating j poisonous mushrooms, and, taking the body out of the - f grave, and having carefully replaced the tomb-stone, carried it on his shoulders to a place behind the, high f altar, where he fastened it to the rope pt? one of the ' church bells (which it wus the business of his friend, the Florentine, to rin for matins so dexterouslv. that the ringer, without having perceived the cause, vUc su?e to havei the feet come bobbing against hu lace at the first piill; and, having thus disposed IV I1 xt mathinery, he wikhdrew to a hiding-place, from V W t 00X11(1 witness, unobserved, the success of ; Jhnen, 4matis being arrived, the Florentine w . rose ana went to the, rhnK i- -ui. :V Jus custom, h1 a hit, as was ; i , aS to be able to Una S?S,en 80 l?nS, m Pctice 7 1 (omnlo nnr) nnldp- rn G, agaiUst hlS left )f. ot terror,.andi exclaiming, O Chrff p a !f r go tlie rope, and ran; away screaming ajlel ' J:1 lAnw wonLl rarrvWm All TT-h,VK TVl.i1?1. 3 hlS jl t held from his spy-place with incredible satisf i auu iutpr naving w reuuer nis consternation mnrl .uupicicy iwuviui uwj wiucune entered, bo as i to prevent his repress out of the church, retired quiet ly ly to his own chamber to sleep, j - The Florentine, already half out of his senses, no sooner reached the dborand found it locked, than he was ready to drop senseless. . However, he collected himself sufficiently to seek, his way to the principal . entrance, were he succeeded in unbarring the doors r . Priore pelle Pieve principale. i V he wentaccordinglyJ WithouftK VT u IK . !l -and, at the first 1, (aSW ucil-rfinn K ,i 1 rf za. f tP.lt the dead-cold fppi rnmo adjusted. ) he and letting himself out ; which, when he Iiad done, he felt himself so inspirited byjf esh air and beau tiful moonlight, (it; being ono i the finest mghte m the whole of that season,) that he began to reflect, without disturbance, tnat which had occasioned him so much terror, and, bethinking himself of the rirmimstntice of the door bv which he had entered, 1 being afterwards locked from without, arrived at a very strong suspicion of the trick that had been rlavArt him nf which he knew nobodv but Master Peter could be the author. In order, therefore, to satisfv himself. he went back and Ut a candle at tne sacrament lamp with which (not without some re mnininrf cnctnn nf tprmr he returned to the sc-ene of action, where he soon satisfied himself that it was as he suspected ; for there was the body suspended hv ih Kcir nC ita hpiid to the identical bell-rope trhip. h inow in be. that of the poor girl who had been buried in" the morning, both by the length of the flaxen tresses, and by tne ganana oi nowers witn whirhit was adorned. Moved with compassion, thfrpfhrf he was about to return it to the vault, from which 'it had been so unfeelingly displaced, when a thought of vengeance occurred to him, which" hefelt auite unable to resist; so, leaving the body where he found it, he looked about till he discovered a passage out urjon the leads, from whence he made his "way down into the cloister, and so to the little entrance-door which Master Peter had locked jfrom without, and which he now re-opened. He then returned again into the church, fastened the great gate, and, taking the dead body on his shoulders, carried it on tip-toe through the cloisters to the door of Master Peter's (Camber, which (having first satisfied himself, by listening at the key-hole, that he was sound asleep bv his snoring he softlv and cautiously opened and., advancing to the bed. deposited his load on the pillow, bv the side of the sleeper, and then took hi turn to conceal himself for the purpose of witnessing . the effect of his counterplot. . - L.ong it was betore Master f eter-s nap enaea, uui j at length, about daybreak, he began to stir, and turn ing himself m his bed,-(not yet well awaKe; ne iaiu his hand on the face of his unwelcome bed-ieliow. which, being colder than marble, caused him to with draw it. as suddenlv. and withal to Open his eyes which no sooner fixed themselves on the face of the corpse, than the transaction the preceding evening flashed on his recollection, and he concluded, that the strange visitation, which he now ' experienced, was in recompence or tne sacrilege ne uau wnumucu, nnH for which hp' was now doomed t6 receive some sicrnal' nunishment. Leaping therefore , from the bed in an agony of horror, he ran out in his shirt to the rwrirlnr whirh was? adioinina- his apartment, and there unluckilv coming to the head of a staircase which he Jbrgot in his terror, he lost his footing, and tumbled from the head of the stairs to the bottom, at the expense of a broken arm and rib, and pf two or three contusions on the skull. There he lay, unable to move, making the most hideous exclamations, irom mingled pain and terror, till he awakened the house with his cries; and the Prior himself, hastening to the snot, found his beloved nephew in the condition above described, without the power of affording the least explanation. Meanwhile the Florentine, who had observed all that passed, sallied forth from his ambush, and going" softly td Master Peter's chamber, took the corpse once more on his shoulder, and carrying, it back into the church, the wTay he had brought it, unseen of any one, deposited it securely in the grave from which it had been taken, with the garland on its head, so that it appeared as if it had never been moved; and thence went to ring the Ave-Maria bell, as it was already broad day-light. Nor was he long employed in this olhce, belore he was summoned by the, Prior, (who had all this time been vainly attempting to re call poor Master Peter to his senses, and draw trom him an intelligible answer,) to go and call a physi cian, the best of his time in the city of Prato. Hav ing dispatched the Florentine'ori his errand, the good Prior gave directions to the assistants to convey the wounded man back to his chamber; but the orier was no sooner pronounced, than he as suddenly recovered the use of speech, of which he had been deprived, and with the most manifest tokens of terror and re- pugnance, demanded that he might be carried any where else rather than to1 that frightful place; upon which they took him to An apartment that vyas des tined for strangers, and where, not without much difficulty, he at last prevailed bn himself to give them an explanation of what had caused his terror, and of the hideous spectre he had beheld on his j pillow. One of the assistants, who was a man of courage, immediately upon this account being given, hastened to the spot to assertain the reality ; and finding the bed empty, and no vestige appearing of what had Created this terrible alarm, returned and ! reported that Master Peter must have j seen these things in a dream an opinion wThich was acquiesced in by some neighbouring priests, who had, in the meanwhile, been attracted to the spot by his cries, and who all concurred in ascribing what had passed to a distracted imagination. "I Master Peter, still more anazed, and incensed by this conclusion, now insisted upon being himself car ried back to his chamber, where he found eveiy thing as had been reported, and which yet farther ir. creased his perplexity. Meanwhile, the physicians iarriving, prescribed the usual remedies both for his j Outward hurts, and his supposed mental derangeme it; and the former having been found less severe than was first apprehended, the unfortunate sufferer, tc excuse himself from the imputation Cast on his una srstand ing, began torelate, in a clear and connected man ner, the whole' history of what had passed, so far as it was known to him, first asking pardon (with many expressions of shame and contrition, (for the trick he had himself endeavoured to play on the Florentine. How great, then, was . his astonishment and rage, when the Florentine, with the utmost apparent truth and simplicity, solemnly denied all knowledge of any trick having been practised on him whatever, or of any part of the alleged transactions; adding, that after ringing the matin-bell as usual, during which rip event had happened in any manner tjo disturb him, he hacj returned to bed, and was there expecting the signal for the Ave-Mafia, when he was ularmed by Master Peter's cries, and the noise made by those who came to call him. '-How!" exclaimed Master Peter, half choked with passion: " and did vou not perceive the corpse attached to the bell-rope? did you not feelats feet dangling in vour face ? And And did you not run away, terrified out of vour life ?" And so repeated word for word the whole history of tne event, exactly as he had before related it, every part of which the Florentine again, and in lijce man ner, put in issue by a positive denial. TJn this Master; Peter could contain! himself no longer, but challenged an immediate test of hAs veracity, by in specting the grave from which the body hi id been taken. Thither all the by-standers adjou -ned ac cordingly; and there (to his utter confusion) the corpse was .found, laid out in precise order,' with not even the garland on its head discomposed, a id with no sign of having been moved since the hour of its interment. i It is impossible to describe the mingled- feelings of wonder and vexation with which this mifu cle was beheld by the poor baffled schemer, who (tc shorten the tale) gave orders to, bef instantly carried back to his chamber, and put to bed, where, having leisure to consider all that had passed, he found so li tie com fort or satifaction in his1 reflections, that he fell into melancholy, and thence into frenzy, in whiph latter ftate he was so tempted by the Uevil that one morn 7 being left alone in his chamber, he threw him t of the window, and ! fractured his ikull, by wnicb. he died on the spot His old uncle, in despair renounced tCJ ri- "" v ; rr. , 1 his e Pnory, and passed the remainder of " uaya m retirempnt Q l.A;n fiklxr tup. Buaded to the WV: witched. As last, that hi hp- me Florentine, he found that it Lampane del Sagramento. would not be convenient for him to remain behind, with so much of doubt and mystery attached to an incident in which he penormed so qistingmsneu a nart: and removing to Florence, became clerK oi tne fiar.ristv of St.- Peter the Great, where, in process of time, he ventured to divulge the whole truth, and nas since ouen ana oiten reiatea tne anair prpcisciy as it occurred, without which the world would never Jiave been made acquainted with so rare and divert ing a nistory. v , From " Legends of New England.''1 A NIGHT AMONG THE WOLVES. "The gaunt wolf, 1 Scenting the place of slaughter with his long And most offensive howl, did ask for blood." " Tbp. wnlf th crannt and ferocious wolf! How mnnu iatz nf wilfi horror are associated with its name ! Tales of the deserted battle-field where the wolf and the vimure feast together a horrible and obscene banquet, realizing the fearful description of the siege of Corinth, when . On the edge of a gulf There sat a raven flapping a wolf,' amidst the cold and stiffening corses of the fallen; or of the wild Scandinavian forests, where the peasant sinks down exhausted amid the drifts of winter, and the wild wolf-howl sounds fearfully in his deafening ear, and lean forms and evil eyes gather closer and closer around him, as if impatient for the death of the doomed victim. ' I ' " The earlv settlers of New England were not un- freouentlv incommoded bv the numbers arid ferocity oC the wolves, which prowled around their rude, set tlements. The hunter easily overpowered them, and with one discharge of his musket scattered them from about his dwelling. They fled even from "the timid child, in the broad glare of day but in the thick and solitary niffht far awav from the dwellings of men, thev were terrible, from their fiendish and ferocious w y amjetite for blood. "I have heard of a fearful story of the wolf, from the lips of some of the old settlers of Vermont. Per haps it may be best told in the language of one of the witnesses of the scene: " 'T was a night of January, in the year 17. We had been to a fine quilting frolic, about two miles from onr littlp RP.ttlement of fouror five log-hotises. 'Twas rather late about twelve o'clock, I should guess when the party broke up. There was no moon and a dull, gray shadow or haze hung all around the horizon, while overhead a few pale and sickly-looking stars gave us their dull light, as they shone through a dfno-v enrtairw There were six of us in company Harry Mason arid myself, and four as pretty girls. as ever grew up this side ol the ureen iviouniaui. There were mv two sisters, and Harrv's sister and his sweetheart, the daughter of our next door neigh bor. She was a downright handsome girl tha Caroline Allen I never saw her equal, though I am no stranger to pretty faces. She was so pleasant and kind of heart so gentle andt sweet spoken, and so intelligent besides, that evervbody loved her.. She had an eye as blue as the hill violet, and her lips were like a red rose leaf in June. No wonder that Harry Mason loved her boy though he was for we had neither ot us seen our seventeeth summer. " Our path ay through a thick forest of oak, with here and there a tall pine raising its dark, full shadow against the sky, with an outline rendered mdistmc by the thick darkness. The snow was deep deeper a great deal than it ever falls of late years but the surlace was frozen strongly enough to bear our weight, and we hurried on over the white pathway with rapid steps. We had not proceeded far before a low, long howl came to our ears. We all knew it in a moment; and I could feel a shudder thrilling the arms that were folded close to my own, as a sudden cry burst from the- lips of ail of us ' The wolves the wolves !' "Did you ever see a wild wolf not one of your caged, broken down, show animals, which are exhi bited for sixpence a sight, children half price but a fierce half starved ranger of the wintry forest, howl ing and hurrying over the barren snow, actually mad with hunger i There is no one of God's creatures which has such a frightful, fiendish look, as this ani mal. It has the form as well as the spirit of a demon. " Another, and another howl and then we could hear distinctly the quick patter of feet behind us. We all turned right round, and looked in the direc tion of the sound. ".' The devils are after us,' said Mason, pointing to a line of dark, gliding bodies. And so in fact they were a whole troop of them howling like so many Indians in a powwow.. We had no weapons of any ! -11 1 f 1 ' j -Til tuna : ana we Knew enougn oi tne nature o: the vile creatures who followed us to feel that it would be useless to contend without them. There W as not a moment to lose the savage beasts were close upon us. To attempt flight would have been a hope less affair. There was but one chance of escape, and we instantly seized upon it. " To the tree let us climb this tree ! I cried, springing forwards towards a low boughed" and gnarled oak, which I saw at a glance might be easily climbed into. " Harry Mason sprang lightly into the tree, and aided in placing the terrified girls in a place of com parative security among the thick boughs. I was the last on the ground, and the whole troop were yelling at my heels before I reached the rest of the company, There was one moment of hard breathing and wild exclamations among us, and then a feeling ol calm thankfulness for our escape. The night was cold- and we soon began to shiver and shake, like so many sailors on the topmast of an iceland whaler. But there were. no murmurs no complaining among us, for we could distinctly see the gaunt, attenuated bodies of the wolves beneath us, and every now and then we could see great glowing eyes, staring up into the tree where we were seated. And their yells they were long and loud, ana dfevelish ! " I know not how long we had remained in this situation, for we had no means of ascertaining-the time when I heard a limb of the tree cracking, as if breaking down beneath the weight of some ot us; and a moment after a shriek went through my ears like the piercing of a knife. A light form went plunging down through the naked branches and fell with a dull and heavy sound upon the stiff snow. " Oh, God ! I am gone ! . 'It was the voice of Caroline Allen. The poor girl never spoke again ! There was a horrible diz ziness arid confusion ift my brain, and I spoke not atrd I stirred not, for the wThole was at that time like an ugly, unreal dream. I only remember that there were cries and shudderings around me; perhaps I joined with them and that there were smothered groans and dreadful howls underneath. It Was all over in a moment. Poor Caroline ! She was hterally paten alive. The wolves had a frightful feast, and they became raving mad with the taste of blood. " When I came fully to myself when the horrible dream went off and it lasted but a moment I strug gled to shake off the arms of ray sisters, which were clinging, around me, and could I have cleared myself, I should have jumped down among the raging ani mals. But when a second thought come oyer me, I knew that any attempt at rescue would be useless. As for poor Mason, he was wild with horror. He had tried to follow Caroline when she fell, but he could not shake off the grasp of his terrified sister. His youth, and weak constitution and frame, were unable to withstand the dreadlul trial ; and he stood close by my side, with his hands firmly clenched and his teeth set closely, gazing down upon the dark, wrangling creatures below, with the fixed stare of a maniac. It was indeed a terrible scene. Around us was the thick cold night and below, the ravenous wild beasts were lapping, their bloody 'jaws, and howling for another victim". ; - "The morning broke at last; and our frightful enemies fled at the first advance of day-light, like so many coward murderers.; We waited until the sun 'had risen before we. ventured to crawl down frorrJ our resting place. We were dulled through every mb was nuino Witn com ana terror uiu jwi son was aeunous, auu rdrcu wuutj owut , , T hint he had witnessed. There were oioouy stains all around the tree , and two or three long nrk nf dark hair were trampled into tne snow. Wo h A fmnft but a little distance when we were met by our friends Irom tne settlement, wuo uau be come alarmed at our absence. They j were shocked at our wild and frightful appearance r ana my uru- .u vo,ra Oontimoa tniM me tnat at nrsi view, wc all seemed like so many crazed ana Drain-stncKeu Thpv assisted usto reach our homes ; but IUC1S 1 ICi. VHA-.IM"- " . 1 , .! 1 wcavuiw. w . .,. i . .. j Harry Mason never recovered luliy lrpm tne oreau ful trial. He neglected his business, hisstudies, and u; r-.-or.rid onri wnnlrl sit alone for hours together, ,,. rrA onnn mnttpmTlff TO nimseU &UUUL uiai "-""J . . 4. 4.1 ;ui Mo fan tr rinnVino- Boon after, ana died miserable drunkard, before age had whitened a hair of his head. . i , . , . " For mv own nart. I confess I have never entirely overcome the terrors of the ihelancholy Circumstance which I have endeavoured to describe, j The thought r;t hoa hftvmtrl mf lil'p. mv own shadow ; ana even rKa rrVki cono ccrx&a nt timfts freshlv belore me in my dreams, and I start up with f something ot the same feeling of terror which I experienced when. more L11U.11 11 ci 11 a, viunu r SWJ X " V.nn V.r.1 o nonturv arm I TRKfia CL JUiJIU among the wolves. J. G. W.T COTTNT ROBERT OF PARIS. Such is the name of the new work of Sir Waltftr Scott, which will shortly issue from ihe nrpss. We have read the first and half of the second volume, of the English copy being the whole that has been received in this country. In the interest and variety of the scenes, in the delineation of character, in the introduction of striking historical personages and events, in the georgeous description o eastern magnificence, and in the lively and romantic account of chivalrous adventure, l will be found largely to abound. x Those who have not forgotten the annals o the lower empire of tlie Greek or Byzantine court; those who are familiar with the ncn pages of the latter volumes of Gibbon, and his masterlv. full, but ranid sketch of the Cru- j w j X' - sades,s cannot fail particularly to remember the period, during which the illustrious family of the Comnem redeemed, for a while, the fleeting splendours of the throne of Constant! nople. The emperors of that name were dis tinguished in themselves, but especially so when compared with the miserable pageants who were elevated and torn almost dany from the seat which they claimed to hold as the successors of the fierce masters of the des tinies of Rome. The bold phalanx of Rome had dwindled down into an army, bearing mighty names, and dressed with the splendour ot the east, but in truth powerless ; while the empe ror was guarded on his seat, maintained by a small band of barbarians, or Varangians as they were called, who driven from their own homes far to the west, by the weapons of the fierce Normans, sought a livelihood among the feebly inhabitants ofthe east: while in their bosoms rankled the bitterest hatred against the barbarians by whom they were couipelled to accept this venal service, The singular spirit of religious entuhsiasm, the fondness for war like adventure, and the inherited love of military conquest, drew from all parts of Europe the vast bands of Crusaders, and threw them like an avalanche on the east. The peculiar char acter of the age, called forth a thousand traits f wonderful bravery, of haughty pride, and of contempt for danger.' These cicumstances, all united in a brief and eventful period, have al lured, or with a good judgment been selected by the great novelist, to form the basis of his volumes. The Hero of the . piece, Count Robert of PariSy is welL known by the bravest cham pions of the first Grusade; and his bold feat du ring the performance of reluctant homage, by the Crusaders to the Emperor Alexius, is re corded by Gibbon and other historians. It is introduced into, and forms a striking scene in the romance. Advocate. CAPTAIN CAL AMITE. To what base uses must we come, Horatio !' mighf well be put in the mouth of Hamlet by the Bard of Avon ; and we do think, had he but known the following anecdote, related by James P. Andrews, f. r. s. p. 371, Shakspeare would have prolonged the address made to Horatio. However, we give the tale, wounding as it is to our sympathies. "A refugee officer, who lived to a great age at Bristol, under the title of Capitaine Calamite, took great delight in recounting to his younger neighbours the misfortunes of his early years. Hisifavourite tale was thai of his captivity at Algiers.; His stature, it must be observed, was singularly diminutive, and his strength of body small in'proportion. To sucha one no severe tasks of labour could be assigned, even by the most barbarous taskmaster. What then were the cruelties he had to relate? 'I was treated (he used to say to the Editor's friend) like a brute animal. They could not make me tug at the oar ; they could not make me drag heavy stones ; they made me then they made me sit, day after day, and night after night, in one cruel constrained posture to hatch turkies !' Mr. Cunningham seeriis to have embodied thisstory in his Velvet Cushion. Phihlogy. The following ludicrous expla nation of the order in which some of the letters of the Alphabet are placed, as well as their essential use in the economy of morals, may well be entitled to the consideration of the "lite rati" of the present enlightened period. The scholiasts upon that ode of Anacreon, which des cribes Cupid to be stung by a bee, state him at that moment to have been learning his letters, and in perpetual remembrance of his winged assailant, he decreed that the alphabet should commence with B. A. The precedence of B to C is explained upon the principle that a man must Be before he could See. But the modern philologists make more important discoveries, and assign an origin to our letters as ancient as extraordinary ; they declare that the letter u was of infinite concern to Noah, inasmuch as it made his Ark, Dark; that the letter F is peculiarly the poulterer's property as it makes an Owl a Fowl ; and that the letter G is as much the perquisite of the Farmer as it con verts all his Oats into Goats : that it is of inp. timable service to a Lass, as it only requires it to be placed before her to make a Glass ; and that the letter H is as important to the physio- giat as n convinces mm that no Ear can Hear, without it: the modern scholiasts also fnform us that the letter K has a serious refer ence to the safety of the good, as it only ena bles the III to Kill ; and that the letter L would be of service to any man when pursued by an Adder, as it would alone convert the serLj? t j !t!'i . rrni liitu a -ju.uLjbi , &uu pea xii ii mm 10 maKe hi? te . r l..i mr iii -:-"S- cape ; as ior uie ituier jji us utility to the fe male members of a Temperance societv U cannot be too. much obliged to thisadmiraM letter for the distinction ; the letter N is likenP to a nine pig, Decause is maKes a sty Nasty while the letter P is taken from Pimv. in L' der to show that character in his light, as an Imp; the learned are not yet satisfied ; thev have not yet disepvered, forsooth, that the let. ter R is an emetic, because it makes P.ni' neacn, ana me leuer u ana v can never bv possibility go out to dinner, because thev in i i J ' r. m .i vanaoiy come aiter i ; moreover they have asserted o, a, s, L are Toast with T and thn3 fore in a somewhat unhappy condition likewise it is said in the schools, where these rnatters are taught, that the Barber is the unkinrW trade of all to the gentlemen of the alphabet, as he ties up Q's (quees) and puts two P's (toupees) into irons. Such , is philological science; to what interesting discoveries 3may it not give rise,. when even an alphabetical ar rangement can put us in possession of such important facts. Inq. A RIDE. During the Revolutionary War, when a part of the American army we.re encamped near the borough of Elizabethtowh in New Jersey an officer who was rather more of a devotee o Venus, than of Mars, paid his addresses to a' lady of distinction, whom he Was in the'' habit of visiting nightly, in the cultivation of those kindly feelings whichlove so cordially inspires; On a discovery of the cause of the repeated l il rc i jl i i tiuseuce oi me uiucer, auu oi uie. spiace wnere his interviews with his dulcinea wejre had, some waggish friends resolved to play off a handsome trick at his expense, which should deter him from a repetition of his amorous-f visits. The officer it appears rode a very small horse of the pony kind, which he always left untied, with the bridle reins over his neck near the door, in order-to mount and ride off without delay, when the business of courting and. kis sing was over ; and the horse always remained until backed by the owner, without atetmpting to change his position. On a certain very dark night, when the officer had, as usual, gone to pay his devoirs to the object of his affections, and was enjoying the Approving smiles of the lovely fair one his waggish com panions went privately to the door of the house where the officer was; took the bridle and sad- aie irom tne norse which they sent qui 11 7 . T 1 !. etly away, placed the former on the tail, and the latter on the back of a very sober ruminative old cow, (with the crupper over the horns,) who stood peaceably chewing her cud, near the spot. Immediately thereafter, they retired some distance from the house, and separating raised the loud cry of alarm, that the enemy had landed, and were marching in full force into the village. On hearing the voice of alarm, the people ran out greatly excited5 ; and con sternation entering every dwelling, found its unwelcome way speedily, into the household; temple where our official hero was worshiping. Taking counsel from his fears, and snatching a hasty kiss, he started from the lady's cham ber, and rushing rapidly.down stairs, shot out of doors with the velocity of a musket ball, and owing to the darkness, not seeing the inter Pfitina rll D n rrr in tlie pnnfnim4inn rC KIo. miv uiiiui lijuiiuil Jl 1113 nag, mounted hastily .into the saddle, with his back towards the head of the cow, and plunging his sharp spurs deeply into her side, caused her to bawl out with excessive Dain. and she dartpd off in gallant style, and in her best gallop made towards the camp. The officer still plying his trusty spurs, and whip to the skin and bones of the suffering old animal, and with all his winl and love on board finding himself hurried rapidly backwards, maugre all his efforts to advance; and hearing the repeated bawlings of the tortured and frightened beast, imagined that he was carried off by magic and roaring out most lustily that the devil had got him was carried in ihs state of perturbation into the very alignment of the camp. The coura geous sentinels, hearing the noise, and imagi ning no doubt, that Hannibal and his oxen were coming,, discharged their 'pieces and fled as if the devil had-chased them ; the alarm guns were fired the drums beat to arms ; the officers left their quarters and cried turnout ! turn out! ! with all the strength of their lungs. The sol diers started from their sleep as if a ghost had crossed their dreams and the whqlc body running, half naked, together, formed as quick as possible in gallant dishabille, prepared to repel the terrible invader. When lo! the lu dicrous sight soon presented itself to their eyes, of the gallant officer, mounted on an old cow, with his face towards her tail, and this appendage sticking straight out behind ; her tongue hanging out her sides frorv with the grievious gigging of the spurs, and himself, owing to his excessive fear, almost deprived ';u iiou peiruieu Willi norror. a loud and general roar of laughter broke from the assembled band, at the rider and his steed the whole corps gave him three times three hearty cheers, as he bolted into the camp, and he was seized and carried to his quarters in triumph, there to dream of love's metamorpho ses, backward rides, sternway advances, and alarms of invasion, and thereby to garnish his mind with materials for writing a splendid treatise on the novel adventure of cowology. N. Y. Constellation, The world is rapidlyreforming. Knowledge is marching forth like an armed man. The public taste is improving. The pomp and pa geantry which formerly attended the passage of crowned heads,isonthe waneand growinginto disuse. Frpm what we see in the political move ments of the old world, we hazard the opinion that where reform does not take place, the hydra head and hands of revolution will attempt the great work itself. A virtuous education, and! habits of indus try, make a better inheritance for children man a icok cstdic. e are very solicitous to acquire property, but too often care but lit tle what sort of heirs we ive it to. Some will acquire, property by selling brick dust, others will become poor by selling gold dust; i : nr. - ....