CALVIN H. WILEY,
WinLIAM D. GOOKE.
TJYT1TEIrON 'WADDELL, JR.
II POLITICS.
;two dollars
PER ANNUM.
rlmtctr to all flic 3ntf rests of itortf) Caw to, Mutation, hrtculturt, iterator, Jtes, iWatfccte, &c.
, If" A FAMILY N E W 8 P A P E E I E U3 R A L
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OL. II XO. 35.
RA LEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, SATUEJHY, JULY 30, 1853.
WHOLE NO. 87.
SELECT POETRY.
THE DOG-DAYS.
BY JOHN G1, SAXE,
"Ilot .'hot! all japing' hot r-CrtY Cries.
IIeaven- help us all in tliejje terrific days !
Tlif burning sun upon the e:irilt is pelting
With his directest, fiercest, hottest ray,
- Fat men, infatuate, fan the stagnant air,
In rash essay to cool their inward glowing,
While with each stroke, in dolorous despair,
: They feel the fever growing ! , j
,Thc lean and lathy find a fate as hard,
For, all a-drv, tliey bunt like any finder
Beneath the solar -blaze," till withered, charred
And.crisped away to cinder !
E'en stoicsnow are in the melting mood,
And vestal cheeks are most unseemly florid'; ...
The very zone that girts the frigid prude, . '
Is now intensely torrid I
The dogs lie lolling in the deepest shade ; '
The t)i"s are all a-wallow in the gutters,'
- And not a household creature cat or maid,
.But qderuously mutters! ,
- t - ' ,'.
. "'Ti's dreadful, dreadful hot!'" exclaims each one
Unto hisvveating, sweltering, roasting neighbor,
Then 'mopsf hre-brow, -nd sighs, as hu had doile
A quite Herculean labor !
And friend! who pass each other in the town,
-S.iy no gftod morrows when they bouie together,
But only mrufter, with a dismal f rowii;
" yi.x'd, horrid weather !" v
v niicTirudent mortals curb with strictest care
All-vagrant curs, it seems the queerest puzzle,
The dog-star r.iges, rabid, through the air, ;
: .Without the. slightest muzzle .! -
But Jove is wise and equal in his sway,
However it seems to clash with human reason,
IIis! fiery dogs will soon have had their day,
: Atid'men shall have.a season ! '..'
THE GUILLOTINE AND AN EXECUTION.
The following interesting description of the Guil
lotine and of an execution by it, with the attending
ceremonies, is from that sprightly . volume just pub
lished " Wild Oats Sown Abroad : " . v
In-visiting the guillotiue, some 'months since, I
had expressed a desire to witness an execution,
should any take place during my stay in Paris.
' I "n a i ariiTus rtwr gowt u i tie uinnuuaiiw;, .
night. I received a 'vert polite invitation from Mon
sieur Henri to be present this 'morning whilst lie
performed his duty npon some .unfortunate victim,
whose, organ of detruc'tivcness. hail led hipi to
knock: out the brains of one' of liis fellow creatures
with a hammer. '
Executions in Paris, considering the population .':
are -mite rare, and always take place in the mrn- j
ing, without any previous anr.ouiicenient. The j
criminal himself is only informed of the hour tho
nijlit before. All this precaution is intended to j
prevent, a crowd, -and n!o to avoid whetting the j
appetite of the people with the sight of ih'e Guillp- j
tinein play.. It isj generally erected after mid-
.niirht, so that few, except those in the immediate j
'iieirhlorhood, can have time to congregate between
daylight and the. moment ot the execution. j
. Eight o'clock nvajs the hour appointed, 'and ve-
weie advised to be there in season, a; the govern- J
me n't 'is very punctual in its peif nniai.ces. yt was
hardlydaylight wlien we reached, ttie Harrier of:
the Kite 'St. Jac.iiue,.- . We found but few persons j
there. ' A small body of mounted -mvn.icipa! guards t
formed the inner circle round the -spot ; immedi-j
ately' behind these were stationed sotu-i grenadiers,':
three or four paces apart. The majurtt v of -looker j
on a"pjeared td bp; s.J.liers off duty, and the ubi:
auitous ' gamins " of the Kauburg. We, as invited
guests of the executioner, were conducted into the
smaller circle, and placed only a few yards from
the instrument of death. The platform . of the
guillotine had a 'railing, and -was rather higher
than I had expected, there being sunie eight or ten
steps to inpunfc, so that the execution may be seen
some distance oil". The guillotine itself is a verv
simple contrivance nothiug but two perpendicu
lar shafts about eighteen inches 'apart, and some
15 or 20 feet high, lietweeu them, near the top.
the axe, or "knifcC is held suspended by a spring,
which being touched, it descends rapidly along
the grooves in the sides of the shafts. The axe is
triaugularly jhaped, and leaded at the top, so as
to run swiftly and forcibly. At the lower part of
these shafts is a wooden collar ,to htUie neck. 1 he
victim . stands erect a short (distance off, on a foot
board, which reaches up to his breast. This board
.t-j JJtxKiveM" t"jv ,n eiiA oa stiAnin
prove unruly; and turns upon a pivot in the centre,
so thatthe executioner merely raises up the lower
end of the board- it immediately bnugs the man
into a, horizontal Dosition. with his neck in the
collar the spring is at the same time touched and
the knife falls'T-4a box receives the head, and a long
basket, which runs parallel with the victim, re
ceives the trunk. ,
;W hile we were! awai tins? the arrival of the prin
cipal' personage in the drama, we overheard one
ot the sruards o-ivinir an flecr.iint. of the execution
a O 1'3 . w '
ot riesche, 'of " Infernal machine" memory. I
asked him how many executions he had witnessed.
cUaJ. not recollect ; but he said that he bad seen
Persons executed in fourteen minutes. At
the tifne d could not ? credit this assertion, but I
soou had evideccej of the possibility of the fact.
rly as it was. t,l a crowd heom to increase rat
itlly. They laughed and joked together, as though
it was a farce instead of a trairedv thev were
ahou to witness1. There was quite a ludicrous
dispute kept up for some time between the occu
pants of sundry trees near the' sc;?ne of action,
a'id the "gens darins," who insisted on their va
cating this leafy Eminence. Plenty of vitticisms
"ere banded about as these ragged climbers
Ktamlda.l o... e. i.
v"iu r pan Qmnon si
unr
Frenchman's auimal
its.
. prisoner came in a close carriage with the
Petitioner. He alighted, apd paused a moment
the foot of the1 steps to speak to his confessor.
J1 was a young man, stout, but small-sized, and
pressed in the blue "blouse" of a laborer. His
?ace was' pale as death, and his step somewhat im
sdy. He had probably never seen the guillotine,
over the instrument, and at last
stare upon the clitterino. knifa
which had just caught the
ravs of the morning
Bun'i There must have been one dreadful concen-
tratbn of agony as that poor fellow's imagination
shaped the fatal process. The mere silver of the
knife is nothing; but who can paint that one irr-.
stant of consciousness as the first noise of its des
cent strikes his ear before its cold edge passed
with the crushing weight of eternity to its fearful
goal, . He had scarcely mounted Che sca&dd, and
eeITo4iifr"v mm to life "waist, fin a'
pushed him gently forward. His 'feet rose with,
the motion .of the board, and there he lay, per
fectly horizontal, with his feet downwards and his
neck in'the collar. The knife came with a whiz-v
zing sound :the head jumped forward the trunk
quivered convulsively, but was instantly rolled into
a basket; an i every trace of that unfortunate man
disappeared from sight, save the " gouts " of blood
upon the knife !
I cuild scarcely believe my own eyes ! Was it
possible that life had been taken ? But a moment '
since, 1 had seen that man step out of the car
riage ; and now lie was gone vanished dead!
It was the quic kness of thought hardly time for
an emotion. His rapid transit from the carriage
to his wicker coffin forbade even sympathy. He.
passed away like a shadow almost too quick for
the exercise of vision. No evidence of violence
'no struggle no torture no apparent agony no
: lifeless body no distorted features, to brand their
'; hideous impression upon the spectator. With the
! exception of a cold shiver as the henvy jar of the
! knife broke the painful silence, there was' no dther
feeling produced in me during the execution, and
j that, too, was momentary. I 'had nerved myself
i for horror, and there was not enough to shock the
i most sensitive. .
The 'guillotine that name of terror, which has
sounded the shame of. France in every quarter of
the globe appeared to ine the most "humane of
instruments'. , We all looked at each other as if
there ought to be ' more : There was -an unsated
j something, which almost amounted to a desire fir
: anotjier victim, as "if the appetite increased by
what, U fed upon. U e could partly accou-it for
the calm indifference with which man after man
was sent to; the embrace of this infernal machine
during the period of the first Revolution. There is
a neatness- -a despatch a cold blooded apathy
about the whole affair that deceives, a man into
the belief that all is mere machinery. It only wants
the aid of steam to make it perfect. There-is ni
Realizing sense of violence and one almost doubts '
jvhether the, victim be a man of-straw, or real riesh
and blood. It would hve sounded very natural
to hear the crowd cry out " Give m another ! and
L - -1 w- tlaiv - &ee." 1
by no means bloodthirsty, and yet 1 fear I should .
have ioined in.
I . The executioner was a very benevolent Jooking
; individual, with a soft, sleepy eye, and a certain
: quiet, gentlemanly manner, that was quite insinu
j ating. He Iwntded the. criminal up the platform
with the polished grace ot ire aucier.t '-egiine, na
no doubt! begged his pardon as he removed the
poor feilw's cap. (
. After the execution,, water was thrown upon the
instrument. The head was thrown into the same
basket. with the trunk, and both handed over to
the dissecting knife. I not iced 'two drummers, sta
tioned near the scaffold intended, perhaps, to
drown the voice of the pat ty in case he should ad-
1 .1 - 1 I . ll'.. . IT.,....:.. r. 1 rt.,.,l
i dress ine crowu-. . it was uiu lituiiui slu'j'uu
! Louis XVI. when he attempted to sppak.
I afterward went to .the Ecole Pratique to see
the remains. The neck had been very smoothly
.-5evered ab'-ut the third vertebra. The expression
of the face - was remarkable : not the leas', .trace of
there was a settled sorrow an intense sadness
i-iiii- no it s ,ir i uir nisto i on oi ieaiuie, uul
about every line of that palid v isage. It had riiore
the apparance of deep sleep than deaththe
sleep that follows mental exhaustion. We were
satisfied that no muscular action could have taken
place after the blow and as to the blush which is
said to have suffused the face ".of Charlotte -Cord ay
when the executioner held up the severed head, and
slapped her chock, it is all absurdity French
nonsense. Yet, for mere superstition sake, if a
person could feel conscious for a second or two
after decapitation, and be aware of one's mutilated
; condition, how excessively awkward must be the
i sensation ! one must feel a sort of " dividend du
j ty " a two-fold existence like a broken series of.
! ejquations. Yet it must be a moment of refreshing'
intellectual energy cut off from the earthy part
the vile body: grand subject for speculation!
j W by don't somebody give us "The Ketlections ot
a Decapitated Man?" It it turned out stupid, ue
might excuse himself for want of head.
Three Years Labor on the Bible. The fol
lowing calculation of the number of books; verses,
ivnr-W lattora. Are. . contained in the Old and New
Testaments, are said to have cost the calculator
three years' labor. They are, therefore, supposed
to be worth reading, and perhaps preserving :
OLD TESTAMENT. 1
No. o Books, 39
. " of Chapters, 929
" of Verses, 23,214
No. of words,.- 591,439
" of letters, 2,7 28,100'
The middle Book is Proverbs.'
The middle Chapter is Job xxix. t j
The middle Verse would be II Chronicles," xx,
17, if there were a verse more, and 18 if there
were a verse less. . ,- "
The words and occurs 35,543 times. I
The word Jehovah occurs 6,855.
The shortest verse is I Chronicles, i, 25.;
The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra con
tains all the letters of the alphabet.
The 19tl. of the II Kings and the 37lh chapter
of Isaiah are alike. 'i -
NEW" TESTAMENT. !'
No. of Books 27
" of Chapters- 260
" of Verses 7,959
No. of Words,
" of Letters,
181,358
828,580
Thfl middle Book is II Thessalonians.
The middle Chapter is. Romans xiii, if there wer
were a chapter less, and xiy if there were a chapter
more.
The middle Verse is Acts xvii, 17.
The shortest Verse is John xi, 35. '
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT.
No. of Books 66
" of Chapters 1,189
" of. Verses 31.173
No. of words, 773,69
' " of letters, 3,566,480
The middle Chapter, at least in the Bible, Psalms
CXVU.
The middle verse is Psalms cxviii, 8.
for his eye ran
settled with a
k THE DRUNKARD'S BIBLE-
" Mr.' President," said a short, stout man, with
a good humored countenance, and a florid com
plexion, rising as the last speaker took bis seat, -"
I have been a tavern-keeper." - i
At this announcement there was ft movement
through the whole r6om, and an expression of in
creased interest. ' " Yes, Mr. President," he went
on. "I have been a tavern keeper, and many a
glass have I sold to" vou and to the Secretary there.
and to dozens of othtratthat I iaijiiirlaiiffiJ
a gin-toddy and brandy punch have I taken at
your bar. but times are changed now, and we
have begun to carry 4he war right into the enemy's
camp. And our war has not been unsuccessful,
for we have taken prisoner one of the rum seller's
bravest generals ! But go on, friend W , let us
have your experience." ;
"As to my experience, Mr. President," the ex
taVern keeper resumed, "in rumselling and rum
drinking for I have done a 2food deal of both in
my day that would be rather .too long a story to
tell t night, and one that I had much rather for
get than relate. It makes me tremble and sick at
heart, whenever I look back on .the evil I have
done. I therefore usually look . ahead, witn the
hope of doing some good to my fellow men.
1But there is one incident "that I will relate.
For the List five years a hard-working mechanic
with ; a' wife. and. several small children,' came re
gularly, almost every night, to mv tavern and
spent the ereniinr in the. bar-room. He came to
10 w
drink, of course, and many
earnings went into my till.
, ,, , , i .1
a dollar ot his hard
, , , ,
last ue ofLiiniu n
perfect sot working scarcely one fourth of the
time, and spending all he earned in liquor. , His
poor wife had to take in washing to support her
self and children, while he spent his time,'-and the
little he could earn, at my bar. But hisppetite
for liquor was so strong, that his week's earnings
were? usually all gone by Tuesday or Wednesday,
and "then I had. to chalk up-a score against hmi,
to be paid off when Saturday night came. The
score gradually increased, until it amounted to three
or four dollars, over his regular Saturday night's pay,
when I refused to .-eH him any more liquor until it
was sct!.ed.. On the day after I had refused to sell
him, he'came in with a neat mourning breast pin,
enclosing some hair no doubt, I thought, of a de
ceased relative." This he offered in payment , of what
he owfc I accepted it, for'the pin I saw at once
was worth double the amount of my bill. I did
not think, or indeed care about the question,
whether he was the owner or not; I wanted my
own, and in'my selfish eagerness to get my own, I
hesitated, not to take a little more than my own.
" I laid the breast piu away, and all things went
1. 1,. .wl.ihi liiih Iya xrradnallv irot h-
Uipd-agjun, and qHn lcut ot01ieujpb--A
llUUOI. x IS nine Ie inuii"iii. mc a ran ui uiflw
i,. , , . " i. .-i t. i
andirons, and a jmirs of brass candlesticks. 1 took
tlie.m and wiped off the score against him.' At last
he brought a. large family Bible, and I took that
too thinking, no doubt, I could sell it for some
thing, i
"On the Sunday, afterwards, having nothing to
do dor L used to shut up my bar on Sunday,
thinking it was' not respectable to sell liquor on
.1. .... 1 T 1 i . . -1 1 7.. 4.-... ..
lliai uav i opeiicu liiim uuui. ui iuik.iiu o wmm
Bible,' scarcely thinking of what T was doing.
... - -
.I-
hr.st place that.l turned to was the family record.
There it was stated that on a certain day he
was married to Emily . I had known
I'jmilv when 1 was a jonng man very well, and
nad once thought seriously of offering myself to
tier in marriage. I remembered her happy young
face, and suddenly seemed to hear the tone of her
merry laughter. 1
" Poor creature !" I sighed involuntarily as a
thought' of her present condition crossed my mind
j and then with no pleasant feelings I turned over
the next leaf. There was the-record of the birth of
four children ; the last, had been made recently,
mid was in the mother's lap.
"I never had such a strange feeling as now
came over nie. I felt that I had no business with
this book. But I tried to stirle my feelings, and I
suffered my eyes to rest upon an open page ; these
words arrested my attention :
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
whoso is deceived thereby is not wise."
"This was just the subject that under the feeling
I, then had, I wished to avoid, and so I referred to
another place. There I read
" Who hath woe ? Who hath sorrpw ? Who
hath wounds? Who hath babbling I "Who hath
redness of eves ? They that tarrv lone at the
wine. At last u ouein use a serpent, it sungein
... 1 J. 'l l-'i Al 1-1 . . . O
like an adder. .
" I felt like throwing the book from me. But
once more I turned the leaves, and my eyes rested
upon the words :
" Woe unto him who giveth his neighbor drink ;
that puttest the bottle to him and makest him
drunken."
". I closed the book suddenly, and then threw it
down. Then for half an hour I paced the room
backwards and forwards in a state of mind such as
I never before experienced. I had become painful
ly conscious of the direful evils resulting from in
temperance, and still more painfully conscious,
that I.had been a willing instrument in the spread
of these evils. I cannot tell how much I suffered
during that day and night, nor. describe the fearful
conflict that took place in my mind, between the
selfish love of the gains of my calling, and the
plain dictates of truth and humanity. It was about
two o'clock, I think, on that eveningUhat I opene'd
the drunkard's Bible ag un, with a kind of despair
ing hope that I might find something to direct
me. 1 opened at the Psalms and read two or three
chapters. As I read on, 'without finding anything
that seemed to apply tQ my case, I felt an increas
ing desire to abandon my calling, because it was
injurious to my fellow men. After I had read the
Bible, I retired to my bed but could not sleep. I
am sure that night I thought of every drunken
man to whom I had sold liquor, and of all their
beggared families. In the brief sleep that I obtain
ed, I dreamed that I saw a long lot of tottering
drunkards, with their wives and children in rags".
And a loud voice said " who hath done this ?"
" The answer in a still, louder voice, directed, I
felt to me, smote upon my ear like a peal of thun
der r
"Thou art the man !" .
" From this troubled slumber I awoke to sleep
no more that night. . In the morning the last and
I most powerful conflict came. The question to be
decided, was : , ,
1 f Shall I perf myltavern, or at once abandon
the dreadful traffic in -liquid poison ?"
f Happily I decided never to put to any man
lips the cup of confusion. My next' step was to
turn the-spigot of every keg, of every barrel of
spirits, wine, beer or cider, and let the contents es
cape on the floor, My bottles and decanters were
likewise emptied. ' Thn l came and signed your
total .abstinence -pledge,vand what is better, never t
r as ed nnt'U WW. v'ffc "WW.-R"!''''
B-iWfWrresident, 1 am .keeping,
at my old stand, Temperance Grocery, and am
making restitution as" fast as possible. There are
at least- half a dozen families that my tavern help
ed to make:poor and wretched, to whom I furnish
a small quautity of groceries -every week, in many
cases equal to . the amount that used to be spent
at mt bar for liquor. Four of mv oldest and best
f customers have already signed the pledge by my
! persuasion, and 1 am not going to rest until every
man that I helped to ruin, is restored to himself,
; his; family and society."
A round of hearty applause followed his address,
and then another of the reformed drinkers took the
floor. ' "
THE BANK OF ENGLAND.
I have been making a most interesting and in
structive visit to the Bank of England. For ad
mission into the interior of this remarkable build
ing, to observe the operations of an institution that
exerts more moral and political power than any
: t?:
soereiM ill ijU(u ic, vuu uiuai
& , 1 ' -, , .
the Governor ot the bank, and
have an order from
i) una as given to
me through the Barings, whose kindness; especial
ly that of Mr. Mr. Slurgiss, I have constantly ex
perienced. The Bank building occupies an irregu
lar area of eight acres of ground: an edifice of no
architectural beauty, with" not one-window towards
the street, being lighted altogether from tire roof
of the enclosed areas.
The ordinary - business; apartments differ from
those in our banks oily in their extent, a thousand
clerks being constancy on duty, and driven with
business at that! But to form any adequate idea
of what the Bank is, we must penetrate its recess
es; its vau'dts and offices, where we shall, see such
operations as are not known in Wall street. I
was led, on presenting my card, of admission, into
a private room, whereafter the delay of a few mo
ments, a messenger eaiie and conducted me through
the mighty and mvsUriotis building. Down we
went into a, room when the notes of the Bank re
ceived vesterday were now examined, compared
with the entries in tit e books, and stored awav.
The Bank of England never issues the same note
a 'second time, it receives in the ordinary course
of' business about is8Q0,000, or $4,000,000,
da51v" in ; no-tes? these are out un in nareels
i;- r -y x . . . . v :
(orAArj 11... .i.Kjf deu(
-:a i
lii e Zt . ' l 1 a i
' date ot their reception; and are kept ten vears, at
, . . . . e . .? . ..-i j .... x" .
the expiration of Vv'hicU period they are taken out
and ground up in the hill which I saw running,
and made again into piper. If in the course of
these ten years any dispjte in business, or lawsuits,
should arise. concerning-the payment of any note,
the Bank can produce tie identical bill. To meet
the demand for notes fo constantly used, the Bank
has its own paper makers, its own printers, its own
i ,, . , , .1 . r j .
1 tt fyri L u nil -1 vi fir. I i 1 1 1" vm 1 1 I . I I 11 1 1 i i
.1 1 1 11. t ' .
even makes tne macaiiery by wnicn tne most or
its own work is -doneJ
A complicated bu' beautifvl operation is a regis
ter, extending from ' he. printng office to the band
ing offices, which mrks eveiy sheet of paper which
is struck off" from tie press, so that the printers
cannot manufaetim a single: sheet of blank notes
that i not recordei in the Bank. On the same
principle of exactuss, a sha is made to pass from
one apartment to another, lonnecting a clock in
sixteen business Hugs of the establishment, and
regulating them iith such piecision that the whole
of. them are alws pointing to the same second of
time ! f ,
In another rom was a ijachine exceedingly sim
ple for detectin light golc' coins. A row of them
dropped one one upoa a spring scale; if the
piece of gold as of the standard weight the scale-,
rose to a cerpn height, and the coin slid off upon '
one side intoH box ; if less than the standard, it
rose a little jtnd the coin slid off the. other side.
I asked the higher what vas the average number of
light coins fat came intoliis hands, and strangely
enough heid it was a question he was not allow
ed to ansvw '
The nexirooml enteral was that in which the
notes are epositd which are ready for issue.
" iWe havathirt-two millions of pounds sterling
j
in this roop," pe officer remarked to me, "will
you take aJittWof it ?'' I told him it would be
vastly agrftab
and he handed me a million of
dollars whioh ceived with many thanks for his
liberality, but I insisted on my depositing it with
him again, asj would be hardly safe to carry so
much money P the street. I very much fear that
E shall never f that money again. In the vault
beneath the &r was a Director and the Chier,
counting thegs of gold which rnen werepitching
down to thi each bag containing thousand
pounds sterlf, just from the mint, his world of
money seeni to realize the fabjs 0f Eastern
wealth, and re new and strong impressions of the
magnitude jthe business donjhere, aU(i the ex
tent of the lations of this e Institution to the
commerce (the world. u0r N Y Observer.
Pboveril Philosophy Honesty .The man
that would teal a pin, vypuid perform the same
operation u)n a crowbar. Were it as easy of con
cealment, be mn that steals not from fear of
the mill farutstrips the lighwayman ; for the lat
ter has a gjd quality tlnj iormer lacks courage.
Honesty is l the heart,, ad not m the fingers : it
is a naturalnd not a cultivated plant. There are
no gradati s in roguer,au who overstep the
charmed 1 or honestv hear the. same stamn.
Honesty tthe half-way :30use to pjely . anJ 'tj3
there the jtigued warfare on m's journey of com
petition, tes rest and refeshraent. Honesty may
be raggedfor a season, the sfmn( pieart toat
beats 'nefh the tatters Lfe a contempt for well
dressed jpery as he pi arui a confidence in
the patljbefore him. rpe man that makes not a
sacrificeh the cause of hnestv is but a bubble oh
the dirt water of roguVy, that sooner or later
bursts,tnd forms a part c tne filth. Br Diogenes
Tcppj-- Diogenes.
. : H'
A tape-grace of arenchman ODce said that
old ple were fond-,f giving good advice, be
caus they were no, long- aDie to set bad examples.
ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE.
A. few years ago, there lived in New York a
young Frenchman, whose pocket was understood
to be often empty, and whose head was generally
considered to boast a vacuum as great. He was a
man of few words, his silence even going to the
verge of unsociability, and his acquaintances con
sequently were limited. " Some said his habits were
coarse, his conduct licentious, and his honesty more
l-Han questionable ; and, perhaps, JLhere-wat513t'
respetfmg;
fixed religious principles, strong passions,-and tastes
above their means. Suddenly this stranger disap
peared from New York, and soon ceased to be re
membered there, except by a few who laughed oc
casionally at what they considered an insane dream,
which, it seems, haunted this young adventurer.
He entertained, so they said, the absurd idea that
-destiny had great things in store for him. He be
lieved, in short, that he would yet mount the
j throne of one of the most powerful European king
doms, and that nothing which could be done to
prevent the accomplishment of his fate would suc
ceed. He might, indeed, be kept out of his inher
itance for awhile ; but of his triumph ultimately,
there was no doubt whatever. This man, as the
readernay have guessed, was the nephew and heir ,
of Napoleon. Twice, in pursuance of the destiny
which he believed to be his, he invaded France,
once before and once after his visit to thus country.
The last time his means seemed 'so inadequate to
the end he aimed at, that most men laughed in de
nsmn ; in fact, one general shout of contempt went
up from one portion of Europe to another. It was
, the fashion to cahim a fool, except with the few j
who called him insane. For several years he lin
gered in prison, condemned to ihcarceration for life
in consequence of his last invasion of France, and
lingered there practicallv forgotten by the world.
At last, however, he managed to escape. But so
j impotent was he considered generally, that the
! news 'was scarcely regarded by any one. He now
j went to London, but only to find the -verdict of
New York repeated. Even the few sagacious men
I who, like Peel, thought they saw more in him than
j met the general eye, forbore to state their opinion
! publicly, lest their reputation for sagacity might
; sulfer. All at once, however, his dreams turned
up realities. .Louis Phiilippe was dethroned ; a
' so-called republic was established in France; and
the nation at large was called on to elect a Presi
!ent. The fool ot Boulogne, as he wasNiick-nam-m1,
offered himself a candidate. He. was elected
by an immense majority. Once in his seat, he set
to work to prostrate' all other rivals, and to destroy
every party but his own ; aridj strange as it was
:hen considered, this bold undertaking has succeed
ed. Cavaignac, Thiers, Montalembert, and every
other leader of eminence he outmanoeuvred and.
ruined. .j JIfi.js .iwvv consequently Emperor of
nnce. j
But this is not all. Scarcely had he been seated
in his imperial chair, when the horizon of Eastern
Europe became ominous with war. Month by
! month the clouds have thickened, in spite of mb
j rnentary glimpses of sunshine, and now. 'there is
j every prospect of the commencement of a general
j European struggle. It only depends, in truth, on
i the will of this man, the former adventurer in New
( York, the "fool of Boulogne," to say whether war
; shall break out or not. ' England, trembling for
: her manufacturing and commercial interests, is
; willing to permit Nicholas to occupy the Danubian
i principalities, sooner than to draw the sword. But
if the French Emperor declares that this occupation
cannot be submitted to; if he says that France,
; sooner than permit the outrage, will cross the
Rhine alone ; England, in self defence, will be coru
' pelled to take up arms; and the arming of these
; two powers involves, as every one knows, aconti
! nental war. 't Thus Louis Napoleon holds in his
j hands the destinies of Europe. His decision will
turn the scale. He can save Turkey, or give the
i Czar Constantinople. He can raise Hungary, Ita
j ly, and Poland to their feet, or keep them prostrate,
1 and do either with a word. The man, who, a few
j years ago, could scarcely command a dinner in
New York, now orders the fate of war or peace in
j Europe, and, perhaps, the fate of western civiliza
i tion. Is not this romance ? AVhere, even in the
' Arabian Nights, is there anything to surpass it?
' Philadelphia Ledger.
i . ..
! Interesting Statistics. The whole number of
languages spoken in the world amount to 3,064,
'viz: 587 in Europe, 937 in Asia, 27 c' in Africa,
jand 1,264 in America. The inhabitants of our
j globe profess more than 1,000 different religions.
. The number of men is about equal to -the number
of women. The average- of human life is about
33 years. One-fourth die previous to the age of
seven years,- one-half before reaching 17 yeai-s of
age, and those who pass that age enjoy a felicity (?)
refused to one-half the human species. To every
1,000 persons, only one reaches 100 years of age;
to every 100, only six reach the age of 66, and not
mOro than one in.-OO lives to. RO vparjjafaar--,
there are on the earth 1,000,000,000 inhabitants
and of these. 333,333,333 die every year, 91,324
every day, 3',730 every hour, 60 every minmte, or
one every second. These losses are about balanced,.
by an equal number of births. The married are
longer lived than the single, and, above all, those
who observe a sober and industrious conduct. Tall
men live longer than short ones! Women ,have
more chances of life in their favor previous to be
ing fifty years of age than men, but fewer after
wards. The number of marriages is in proportion of
175 to every 1,000 individuals. MarriageTare
more frequent after the equinoxes that is, during
the months of June and December. Those born
in the spring are generally more robust than oth
ers. Births and deaths are more frequent by night
than by day. The number of men capable of
working or bearing arms is calculated at one-fourth
of the population. . 1
Some of these statements are rather singular,
and yet many of them are susceptible of an easy
solution. That marriages take place more frequent
ly in June and December than in other months of
the year was just what we have always suspected
was the case. Those who marry in June do so be-,
cause they can't help it ; while those who connubi
alize in December, do so doubtless to guard against
the chilly pillows which distinguish the frost-bitten
months of winter. The matches which come off
in J une are commonly love matches, and are brought
about by green fields, and the contagious influnce
of bobolinks and yellow birds ; while those which
happen in December are brought about, in a degree, '
by. mixing plain mathematics with the market val
ue of flannel under-garments. JV. T. Dutchman.
LILLTPUT STEAM ENGINES.
Two-of the most interesting curiosities in the
English department, and probably in any depart
ment of the Crystal Palace, are two small steam
engines, both of which are complete in all their
parts, and yet so small that the aid of the micro
scope is needed for their inspection. One of these,
a high pressure engine, stands upon an English f
fourpenny ' piece, arid excepting the fly wheel it
might be covered with a thimble. Both of these
engines were made bv Mr. Warner, a watchmaker, .
TiSnTtteiT&rcTW
work was manufactured, when we are told that the- -'
scissors which Mr. Warner used in its construction,
were so small that it would require some hundreds
of them, to weigh one ounce. It works, it is stated,
with precision and great , rapidity by atmospheric
pressure, (in lieu of steam,) and when it is in mo
tion it must be truly wonderful. The screws, valves,
pistons, tc, which compose it; are innumerable,
and it would require, we should think, the patience
of Job to place them together, each in its proper
place, and so as to discharge its, proper functions.
-Mr. Wrarner is reported, to be a practical hand
at such work, and from this we should judge he is
fully competent to invent and arrange machinery
for the use of the inhabiwntsof the invisible world.
It must be.wonderf'ul to see this puffing, and blow
ing, and laboring, upon your hand, and in so small
a thing to see demonstrated a power which has
revolutionized the social condition of the whole
human family. In the same case with this engine
is another, which may truly be' called a fairy work,
although twenty times larger than the one already'
alluded to. This one being large enough to meas
ure, we are enabled to inform the curious as to its
liniensions, which are as follows : Length of beam,
2 1-4 inches ; height of supporters, 1 3-4 ; diameter,
3-8 ; and length of stroke 8 ot an inch. It is
composed of upwards of two hundred pieces, has
governors, parallel motion, air pump, and every
other appliance of the most perfect engine. It is
put in motion by blowing through a tube, and is
reported to work in every particular correctly.
These machines attract much attention ; they are
most ingenious specimens of workmanship, and well
repay a visit to them. yew-York Herald.
Ax Affecting Scene. Lieutenant Parsons, in
his " Nelsonian Reminiscences," relates the follow
ing : ' .
"Richard Ben net, when morfally wounded in one
of Nelson's battles, had requested that a miniature
and a lock of his hair should be given by Lieutenant
P. to his sweetheart Susette, in Scotland. , . The -gallant
lieutenant thus described the interview.
" It was at the close of a day, when a bright July
sun was setting, that I arrived at the pretty cottage
of Susette's mother. I tremulously stated who I
was. to the most respectable matron I ever 6aw, of
French extraction. In broken and bitter accounts
of heartfelt grief she told me her daughter's death
was daily expectedj aud requested time to prepare
her to see rue.
" At last he expressed a wish to see the friend
of Richard Bennett ; and I was admitted to the
fairest daughter of Eve. And 1 found the world
unequal to her charms. She was propped, up -with
pillows, near the open lattice of her bed room that
was clustered with roses. Her white dress and the
drapery ofthe room accorded with the angelic vis
ion who now turned her lustrous eyes upon me,
veiled in long, fiinged eyelids. She held out her
transparent hand, and gently pressed mine as I
stooped to kiss it; and, as she feltjny tears drop
on it, softly murmured, "I wish I could cry ; that
would relieve my poor heart.' . She gasped for,
breath, and, respited with diffiulty. 4 The lock of
hair quickly1, let me see it!' She caught at it
wildly, pressed it to her lips and heart, and fell
back. Her mother and I thought she had fainted ;
but the pure and innocent soul had returned to
God God who gave it.
Preserving Frcit in Bottles. Strawberries,
raspberries, blackberries, currants, peaches, in fact
any fruit may be preserved .in air-tight bottles, so
as to retain its natural flavor, with but little labor
or expense. .
The. following is an excellent mode:
44 Fill the bottles quite full with fruit not quitfl
ripe ; place them, with the corks put lightly into
them, in a copper with cold water up to the necks,
and gradually raise the temperature of the water
to 160 degrees, and not exceeding 170 degrees
Fahrenheit. Keep them at this temperature half an
hour ; then take each out separately, and fill it up
with boiling water from a kettle, to within an inch
of the cork ; dri ve in the cork firmly, tie it over, and
dip it immediately into bottle wax, and lay the
bottle down on its side, to keep the cork always
damp. To prevent fermentation, turn each bottle
half round twice or thrice a week for two or three
weeks ; after that, they will need no further care.
The corks should be soaked in water two or three
dgVi-hgfoje. bfiRggd-g , benrycir-matheuiji---
Another mode is to tie the corks before putting
the bottles in the water. The heat expel the air
from the fruit. As soon as the bottles are . cool
enough, apply the sealing wax. The secret consists
in exhausting the air from the bottles, and making
the corks air-tight.
Insert Fecundity. French insectivorous math-,
ematicians furnish some extraordinary figures upon
the rapidity with which certain species of bugs
multiply, and the services rendered to mankind by
the swallows which feed upon them. A bug he is 4
acquainted with i produces nine generations in a
season, and he remembers a pair that in one sum
mer were the happy ancestors of 550,489,000,000,
000 descendants ! What, he asks, would beeome
of us, were it not" for swallows, each one of which
consumes 900 bugs a day f
Vain in.the wide intervals to say, "I'll'save this
year," if at each narrow interval you do not say,
Til save this hour."
Why is a watch-dog larger at night than be is
in the morning? Because be is let out at night,
and taken in in the" morning.
The easiest and best wayo expand the chert, is
to have a good large heart in it. It savestbe
of gymnastics. t
... ;
TSSvember and December are called, by theT 13
ton Post, the embers of the i dying year.
Th same people who can deny others evA
thing are famous for denying themselves aotbic
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