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;--fev!;yl HALEI GIT, WTH CAPtOLIXA'SATUPtDiY, FEBRUMY 21, 1852, , - HO. 12.
SELECTED ARTIGLES:
V ' From Sartain' Union MagazineT
THE HEROIKE Of, THE MODERN ITALY;
OR, t O S TAJl ROU ND.
B r AUCl'STIS . :J
TgxAs is the new-Itaiy! The-Italian refugee"
finds hiinself at Home again as he rises some prai-
lie rickje and looks around Jmrr. The. same land
seajK; melts away in sloping Ordure around him.
. H'Jieaine:peculiar effect of distance, of light and
shado, of thick forests, and green plains, 4and 'flying
clouds', and strips of cultivated fields, and feeding
herds" is here. There is nothing peculiarly --tub-,
lime in the scjiery : it is wide full of deep tints
serene reminds yoiT of an oil painting It is
"something in the atmosphere -:- whici exhilarates
your. heart flushes your cheeks--qliickens your
pjK-ech unlooses your tongue. t '
I can, never forget the hours I -first rode over
. the trreen reaches of western Texas. I was joyous
as a x-'hoolboy clear-headed, warm-hearted, full
. to the lips ofcpoetry. " Italy over again ! " I cried,
, as I lield ln ray-mustang;; and looked around me
in a charm ; jf but aTnew Italy ! Twenty times as
large as Italtj; eleven noble rivers, no one muddy
Tiber, no foul-Romagtia ; no dozen miserable ducll
. ios tearing it to tatters ; no miserable lazzaroni ;
no accursed despotism resting in miiisnia over it ;
no glorious Tast, . ever dwarnug -tho Present into
double degradation. This Italy," thought I, as I
. rode along, " has only" twelve' years of history so
iar. in tliat tune,, tins vast territory has been
justly and gallantly rent from an abominable des
potism has had lier day as a noble republic has
erectetHierk" into the .-greatest" wealthiest, most
flouri.shing.stiite of all the -thirty-one." Enough his
".toiy for nation's fii-st twelve years"! " There Ts a
romance abosirt her .wide soil; thece is a beauty all
over its ilJimiiable breadth ; there is an intelligence,
an enthusiasm, a health,, a prosperity," a rich pic
ture ! I came to see I "have" seen veni, vidi
cmnpura'to!" Henceforth am I a Texan !" ;
Two weeks after Ihis, having purcliaised a hdme
in .western Texas, Ii was returning towards the old
State, to make the necessary preparations to move;
to my new'home. I had ridden all day along the
Brazos River. I had forgotten myself during the
day in calculations as to the number of rails re
quired to fence in rny abroad fields,- and as to the
price of the whole, at the rather alarming charge
of j5 per hunTre ; rray -rfn-tm; faad.to.kcn aclyan- !
tage of my .abstraction to stroll very slowly along,
. absorbed in revery? of the sweet grass of the'Mexi
. can plains, from wliich he had been dragged by the
ruthless lariat. Only when dusk was around me,
iuTthing but thick trees ,and deep silences about' my
way, did I wake to tlieueeessity of looking Out for
a home for the night. . Striking spurs into my
horse, I urged hi in along the dark.-way, looking
eagerly ahead for some liarht. Mile after mile I
rode rapidly along, but ho cabin shot, its gleam ;
over the darkening war. , A strange! .feeling, came '
over me, such, I suppose, as wearied men have in
suvh -dar kness, and silence, and solitude. I threw
the bridle on the neck of my. animal, almost in-
different as to when- we reached an abiding-place
My situation' favored it, .and a stream of thought, j
lonir forotton. rolled over mv mind. -Old faces.
old fancies, ohL feelings wereupon me. I felt sor
ber, solemn, almost awe-struck, and yet myr reve
rie was not impleading to me. -
1 know not how lon I rode thus, when ray mus-
tanir. ouickened his Pace, knowing, bv some sinru- i
lur sense, that a stable was near. Twenty minutes j its new beauty, and crystal air had poured fresh
atter, I was calling at the fence before-a cabin. A j health and joy through her whole heart, pne
lady came, caudl6 in haiKh to the door. : In answer j week after her arrival, ,howe'er, they buried little
. to my request to be permitted to reinain all' night, j John, her youngest boy,-her darling- Deeply
sue invited me courteously to alight ; at the same j- afflicted from youth, this fell hard upon her ; but
Hime remarking, that -she did not "entertain Strang- she bore up in quiet and silentness of spirit. Three
ers except in . a case lj-ke 'mine. Fastening my weeks after her arrival in Austin, her husband (and
:t horse, and ""-taking niy saddle-b igs on my arm, I only other son rode out to tend some cattle he had
,entered the door. The lady held the candle pveH just bought, and; which had strayed into the moun
her heady the light fell; oni-a face I have never ! tains north of the -place. They, went out inithe
forgotten since I was a boy a face I never will
forget for ever ! ! - , ;
""At, noon, just seven' days afte'r that eventful
night, I stood, with heatlj uncovered, beside an
open grav-e, not a hundred" yards in front of the
cabin. A few -. neighbor were around : the fe-
males weeping the men expressing all that men
can .express, in their faces, of deep sorrow. As the
earth rattled upon the coffin, the .negroes standing
round broke into passionate lamentation; and for
tne nrst-time.in my lite, 1 telt that -which one teels
for the first time, when the one we love best is
given up to dust. This was yesterday. To-day, I
' am sitting in the cabin at the foot of the bed" on
which she died. I can see her grave from the
window befores me. Theres merely an oak board
at the head of it, on which I have cut with my
own hands, the one word! Aoxes. I write now,
because I cannot help it. i le tiood-gates of mem
ory have , been opened; e.n, ink; and paper lie
conveniently before me,: and almost unconsciously
to .myself, I let the stream of
. this
thought flow over
with ; whom I can
S
peai . -piHst speak of 'her so dearly loved
Siully jost so found 1 1 l" -:
so
. It is tlifc old stirv.' Anes and I were raised
iogeu.r m one of the barreir cbunties of North
Carolina. .The little
rocks scattered arouiu
their needles '-and cone
log school-houste,- the . huge" j tigue. Abandoned by them m an exhausted con
. the ItalK pines, showeriur dition at a ravine, he had been found, "and was r6-
to the spring, the. easy tasks, tlW welcome noon.
the drowsy afternoon," the Friday afternoon spel-
hng, the glorious Saturday, are all exactly the same
in all the Old countries. K.vs and girls have loved
m them all., but never aiiy";two loved anywhere
more than land Agnes. 1 ' "
v"- She was a gently quiet little -"girl, with brown
iidii, auu. wuu My, ana quiet steps. Yon mav
i . . - t 1 . - . .
imve .u hwji f uvn-in tm-.r striped calico dress,
as you rode oy old svhool-houses but. vI.p -all
oue oy 01a svuooi-ho
n to me; She woul
liQ'witji nie during so
in all th
1 have nothing vhat-lool-timo.
Viit "If
ever to d
tailed to walk ail the way hbme- with her. thou'o-h
her home lay half a mile beyond my father's, and ; day,' exhausted by the excessive excitement and fa
thouh "her father was a ;crosp pian, with a panic- tigue of the previous week, he died, and left; his
ujarly cross :dog. We gfew as naturally together mother, I cannot say desolate, but more separated
as twin cherries, and loved each . other with-all our-j froin the world, as an expectant of heaven should
hearts. Q, the exquisite pleasure of reading togeth- be. ' -" ' - j i
er from.n'he same book, with'; her cheek against -. I cannot follow all her singular history. Driven
miife I, j The pure pleasure with, which I gave her by poverty and exposure from Austin, she again
every golden apple, and ruddy peach, and red j entered her ofd home on the Brazos; with her little
plum, -that- foil into- my hands! Our joys' are Grace her only child. Hardly lad she became
deeper, but they tire.' not so fresh, so delicious as settled here, before .the approach of the Mexicans
those of childhoood. Dear, dear Agnes ! My
eyes grow aim as 1 write. 1 cannot realize the
as the white-haired matron I saw when I first en
tered this house; thou art to me for ever and, ever
is when we. were together, toDg, long ago I J .
It is the old story. Iwas taken from school
from little world made Eden by this Eve, and
sent, when sixteen years old,' to become clerk! in a
store in a distant tojv n. , Thence, by. a j sudden
change I went to . college. It was when if had
graduated that I returned for the first time to my
father's little, out-of-the-way house. I was passed
twenty -one when I, returned, he about eighteen. "
The very first news they told rife was that slid was
to besmarried. This, again, is an old story. Iller
father had gone on from worse tp worse : became
iiitemperate, ' Deeply indebted to a good-natured,
good-for-nothing fellow, he had favored the 'man's."
love for his daughter.- .All the neighborhood rang
with her patient but firm opposition to the mar
riage. My sister told me with - tears how, at last
worn out, Agnes had consented to be married.
She told me how lovely she had grown, j"
I fi ad no time to arrange a pian. I was con
founded; I was young; I .was -full of mixed feel-,
ings : what could I. do ? They were married
and immediately after the- whole 'family moved
westward. I was occupied in. study for my pro
fession, engaged in politics ; and when I saw Ag-
nes in the cabin-door here afar off in Texas, it was.
the first time I had seen her since we were school
mates together, longtgo. I knew her instantly ;
she knew me instantly. The ;brown hair had be
come whitej the rosy cheek pale; but the same '
childlike peace, serenity, joy, were in her face as ,
of old. I knew her instantly; I shall know her
hereafter from among all the angels of God. ;
, I found her a widow. A plain mau,.wkii his
wife, lived in - her spacious cabin with , her, land '
managed her farm for her. I could not have;
passed, even if my business had been pressing. '
It was not. I lingered day after day. She .was
taken suddenly, and dangerously ill. The neigh
bours flocked in ; but, on the third day she who
had often fallen asleep with her head on my bo
som when we were children together, once ihore .
feel asleep there, to- wake no more until the hieav
ens be no more. 1 dare not dwell on that scene.
It istoo. recent. I write not to describe it 1 1 write
to preserve her history, while it still sounds in -my
ears from her lips. She used to sit, on Saturdays,
and tell me, in her swfietfand girlish way, what; she
had fancied, or read, or dreamed about. Her his
tory sounded to me like this, as she told it to me,
a few days ago : ? I j
She Had found aer husband a tind-hearted but
thriftless man. Broken up by some extravagance
from the village to whieh they had first moved
from North Carolina, he had, immediately after I her
father's death, joined - Austin's colony, and settled
on the Brazos. She told me, as of some fairy mat
ter, of the years-? years weary years she had.
lived in their cabin,:. under the moss-covered Jive
oaks which drooped over the banks. She told line '
of the wolves howling all night around he. cabin;
the deer and panther after them cpming. down to .
drink by the house in the river. She told me of
the loneliness with her husband ; there, of ;the
double loneliness when he was away 'at Columbia
to obtain supplies. !
At last some whim seized himJ and they left
their cabin to the wolves, and removed to Austin.
She herself became interested in her story as jshe
spoke. I listened just as I used to do when a
boy, deeply absorbed, as much in her as in her
tale. She told me of their journey over the rolling
prames'to Austin, then on the extreme frontier.
She described to me its exauisite scenery, and how
mornino'. immediately after breakfast, and that
night three hunters found her husband shot throjugh
and through with arroVs, scalped and mutilated...
They laid the corpse at her . feet ;abut her agjiny
was for her son her. only son, lier brave, beau-
. tiful Charles ! '.. ' h
i Amies I cannot endure to" name llier other than
' as I knew her when a child was a Christian in
t i v- ...i.: s i -i j x- j( ,
the purest," fullest .sense of the nanp. John and
j Charles, and a little girl named Grace-her children,
had been each solemnly decucatedty her to Orod
in holy baptism, in their infancy,
them- as given by God, as more-
1 l" , . . - .1 P 1 .
he regarded
e children oi
their Father in heavenj than hers.:
Passionately
as she loved each, she gave up John! when he died
as one unclasps the hand to let a strugg'
ling pird
fly up into heaven. Strange to earthly ears,; she
regarded his death with resignation which a3 most
might be called joy, were it not too peaceful; for
such a name. But the disappearance of Charles
was more afflictive to her than 'his murder by the
! Camanches would have Tep. Through two long
' years' was she racked with; the bitter anxieties as
i to the fate of her captive child ; at length he re-
. J v v... T.,i;i.ii it. thpir raniil .
j flight. towards Santa Fe,' he tad given
i IU1II i rvjL u UU uy vli iimi-iu -- "-
out when
near that place, from sheer want of food, an fa-
tored to his mother bv traders from St. Louis.
Surelyv.one would thibk affliction had now wrought
its full effect in this- -pufe and loving womaiji.
There needed no more after her lifetime of sorrow !
. Xot so. God -would make still more of an aiigel
, of 'her, before she entered actually His celestial
t.jty. It was but the day after thoj return ot; the
' boy, that the attempt was made by a.band of iirm-
ed men to bear awav the archives iroui ausuu,
j '
one of the most siurular events
in I the history of
! triujr.lv t. their nre.sent abidinr-place. i-Tlijs next
Texas. Charles was one of the hastily-gatnerea own modest tuture her active industry and inex- number; and altogether insufficient in influence to
band which mafched all night with bleeding feet ; haustible courage. "Was it iot time for her to think ! the girled tree to any thing like comeliness,
after-flip, plunderers, .fed returned the archives m j of herself; of her own to-rhorrow ?" No, not yet ! TTav- . kjtpA this matter? Not. we be-
under Santa Anna drove iter, in company with ma
ny others, to Galveston Island. There she re
mained for days without shelter, exposed to the
beating northws, forced to rather for food the oy-
f ters frorn the bay, Here, in consequence of expos
ure anv improper iooa, tier .uttle lirace war tairen
sick ; .and ker, under the miserable shelter ofn'
old wagon-cover, the child breathed its last When
it was apparently dead, the, heavy boom of a can
non, from the battle field of San Jacinto, across the
bay, smote its ear : it started opened its eyes
and then closed them forever on a weary, world, in
sweet sleep.
A few weeks after, saw the mother once more
settled in Her cabin on -the Brazos. Affliction had
preserved her heart her soul herself, as in am- j
ber ; and when I saw her, she was the same sweet,
childlike being, whom I had so loved in boyhood
and now love forever ! Since I have begun writ- j
ing, the clouds have rolled upland the wind is
swaying the heavy moss that hangs from the live j
oak over bergrave ; aid the rain is falling steadi- j
ly upon it. Thank Goja for the world beyond the j
clouds ! Hewho ledfme here to this spot Of all '
the wide world just in time for her who so loved
me,- to sink asleeji upon the bosom which so loved j
her, He did it in earnest of that hour when we
shall be restored to each other, purified by 'the
world's fires ; children once more His children
purer, more loving, than when we' loved together
in those old schooldays ! I will hence' to-morrow,
a changed man. A light streams upon my path
from beyond the grave. . I look for a better coun
try, eveh. an heavenly. Only five, ten, twenty
years at most, and then "
A From the North American Miscellany.
AN ADMIRABLE WOMAN.
- The last number of the excellent French journal,
the New-York "Courier des Etats Unis," contains
the following interesting and touching story, ex
tracted from a discourse delivered before the Na
tional Society of Agriculture, Science and Art, held
at Valenciennes, in France-:
At Valenciennes, in one. of the small streets in
the neighborhood of "Place Verte,"' there have
lived for many years two old women, now aged re
spectively seventy tmd seventy-three years, long, re
duced to the utmost poverty, but as tenderly des
voted to each other as sisters One -of them, who,
by her feeble eyesight and the primary education
she had received, is prevented from participating in
any nard labor, attends, as well as lier innrmities !
most as infirm as her companion, but evidently
Tiii 1Cv tm, w mo .uuuiu v..v.. y., c
more accustomed to severe exertion, is still able to
to do a little washing and ironing, and thereby
adds a small sum to the modicum of nine francs a
month allowed to each of them by the Board of j
Admiiiistptiqn of the Public Asylums. The first
was ,once- the wife of a respectable merchant of J
Valenciennes, well to do in the world; the second i
was tar hired servant. The first saw her family, !
j fortune ; the second, during the last thirty-five,
j years, has voluntarily been the support, theprovid-
luiiify-me uuucuiv
ence of her old employers and their children. The
name oi me mt x m not uieuuou , uuc xt auoru
.- . cj. i ii . 1...4. ;
jutj pleasure io ten you luai ji uic scwuu, nuu it
late to -you some traits of her life of devotion and
patient courage.
Marie Francoise Bultez was born on the 13th of
August, 1778. She entered the service of the family
I have mentioned at the age of fifteen, and remained
there until 1816, having become noted for her
honesty and activity, and her fidelity to the interests
of her employers. The good qualities of this worthy
woman had not yet; though, attained their limits ;
and a number of sad events came to develope the
rich resources of her labor-loving character In
1816, injudicious speculations, bankruptcies, and"
the sad results incidental to commerce that is sub
ject to the caprices of government, suddenly brought
ruin and misery on the family of rrancoise s em-
pioyers. .l hey were no longer aoie to pay the wages
l mi 1 i -i
of, or' even give sufficient food to, the humble serv
aut, who for twenty-three years had faithfully and
cheerfully performed the most disagreeable and
fatiguing tasks of household labor. Her services
were, notwithstanding, of the utmost necessity to
this broken and disconsolate family7. Francoise felt
it to be so, and she immediately took her resolution.
She determined to remain and to seiVe gratuitous
ly, .to nourish even, if it became nectssary, thos
who were not accustomed like herself to privation,
labor and fatigue.
From that moment besran for this noble woman
a lone: life of absolute abnegation and devotedness.
. ' - . , , n uivu cL j---. kj .
continued to the present time without cessation, j 7 an(j Mothers ask themselves if, in actors
without comp hunt, with the most . admirable mo- j actresses 'they now are, they recognize ex
desty. First; all her little savings were given up to : nmT,us wr.w th imitation of their sons and
' satisfy the most pressing wants of her master's
j tainily. lhis feeble resource was soon exhausted.
Francoise then bethought her of a small house, sole
inheritance left by her parents, which was situated dail T by the children in a family, gives con
near Vendrgries. The little cottage was sold with- stant pronence to the theatre and actors, will not
out hesitation, with a joyous feeling, even, and the ' these- chiidren- come to regard them also as enti-
portion 01 .the proceeds that appertained to r ran-
coise was aoaea to uie cummutive means leit tne
L family from the complete wreck of their
fortune.
There were in the family young children
5 be taken care of to be dressed properly.
to raise, to be taken care o to be dressed properly.
ine servant-gin, without a murmur, without letting
any one known the extent of any of .her saenhces,
I gave up ner trousseau, or marnage dowry, wmcn
she hen-elf had scraped together during many long
; years of hard lalor ; the clothes, the linen, the mo-
i u iuiiiiciis, i-iuooiis, com os, occ, 01 iu. jv.
srirl . were
disposed ot tor the same purpose as ner
i sayings and her mother's cottage.
i Thus passed the first years that succeeded the
ruin of the L-4 family. Francoise had given
j it all. she possessed, but she was still her own mis
! tress. Those she had saved from the depths of
j misery might at last create some resources for
themselves, and permit' her to consecrate to her
Providence had reserved for this admirable charac
ter all the duties of a mother, all the sufferings of
friendship, all the trials of devotedness.
Mon's. , the head of the family, and its
only hope, died, leaving'a widow and three child
ren -.without bread, without a roof But Francoise
was there, always present, always readv, like the
1 guardian angel ; and her humble abode was joyiid-
ly opened to receive the destitute mother and her
young children. Francoise had been only their
friend before ; now she became their mother, their
sieitet; ; Her sleepless incessant laboirecommenced.
The hope that, aided by the small sum allowed her
by the Board of Public Asylums, she could still
bear up under the heavy burden she had voluntari
Iassumed, sustained her strength and patience; her
-roJ2as-ndisared t ber dy ao-vanny
niTitual kindness, suffering and sacrifice, were still'
sheltered and tenderly cared for !
This continued whilst the young family, the
children, were in need of assistance, protection and
education ; until they grew up, married, and were
able to take carej of themselves. - '
This was not all', however ! The servant girl, the
noble woman, had not yet accomplished her wond
erful task, her singular destiny. The children of
her old master I and mistress had grown up and
married ; but their position in life did not allow
them to alleviate Francoise's position. They too
were struggling under hardship, poverty and family
cares. Sudden and unexpected catastrophes over
took them. Very recently, a conflagration consum
ed in a few hours all the products of the small farm
of one of these children, now himself the father of
seven children. But disaster and ruin, -which seem
ed to perpetuate themselves" in this family, were
met in 1850 by the . same courage and fortitude
that overcame them in 1816. Francoise is an in
firm septagenarian ; her strength often proves in
sufficient for her work ; the only resources of the
poor old woman are a few sous painfully gained
each day, her moderate rept paid by a charitable
hand, and the little sum she receives from the
Board of Administration of the Public Asylums.
Still, her venerabie mistress, now become a sister to
her, is the object of her vigilant care, and shares her
humble home and modest repast ; and still, since
the catastrophe that overwhelmed her master's son,
the old, infirm servant, the poor pensioner of the
board of public; charity, finds herself rich enough
to take care of and to nourish one of the daughters
of this unfortunate husbandman.
And now, even, she persists in raising this little
girl, in obtaining an education for her-; and still
struggles to regain for the grand-child she has thus
adopted, a little of that strength of her youth that
enabled her to accomplish so many heroic sacrifices.
The physical strength is not there ; . but the moral
courage, patience, modesty, and perseverance yet
exist '.!
THE PRESS AND THE STAGE.
No one has failed to remark, that the press, in
our larger cities;, gives, as, a general thing, an un-
due nrominence to the theatre. Actora, tWr nwwiu,
Uftavincrs. coiners, ana auarreis. are Kept constantiv-
before the public, and this, we seriously believe, to
the detriment of pure taste and good morals. v hy
is this ? will naturally be asked. The question is
answered xn words. To the daily press, theatrical
advertisements are matters of importance; and, to
.secure. tiiese putis are of local interest. These puffs,
in many c arft written bv personal friends
of the actors or managerS) Cr by' individuals, who
for the sa.e 0f a free admission, become volunteer
t critlcs m iS n0t tlieretore.'Stranfre, that in a ma-
j j0rity of cases, actors should be held up as very -ex
j traordinarv personages and the public interest
t
f" .to " 7 .
merits. A wrtion of the weekly press in our pnn-
I cipal cities, throws its influence in the same direct
ion, and, form nearly the same causes.
Another reason for this undue bias towards the
theatre, is the association of actors with certain
editors or attaches of the press,-as a matter of bus
iness ; by which means, to use a strong expression,
the press becomes, in a measure, subsidized.
Now, we do not in the least doubt, that, in very
many cases, those who write about theatres and
actors, believe a good deal of what they say ; and
that they really think their stage heroes very im
portant and distinguished personages; but, there is
a very large class of people, who hold with us, that
there is something else in the world besides actors
and opera singers, and that there are interests and
aitroofinna rnt.idp thA walls of a theatre that may
vv.,wv.w - -
: well claim the attention cf the public That there
are matters, of general interest more worthy of lead
ing places in newspaper corresondence and tele
graphic despatches, than the debut of an actress,
or the quarrel of a manager with his stage company.
We are cleariy'of opinion, that this undue promi
nence, which is given to things theatrical, exercises
a bad influence, especially upon youth, whose
thought is not only too much turned toward the
exciting amusements of the stage, but who become
too familiar with the sayings and doings of individ
uals, who, as a class, are far from being eminent
in virtue, or distinguished for those proprieties of
life which dve to society its true external form.
j nw,- 1 r. tlipv not then, see danger in a
; constant idevation of this class of persons to
fv.nct.nf ,i-fat,nTi nt this class 01 persons to ine
r:,.. intprest. ? If the newspaper that is
j tled to the game distinction ? The question is one
of serious import. Let .rood citizens weigh it well
Nnw. tpo At nnt winh to be understood as con-
j demning scenic representations in the abstract for,
;n ti.: r;t; w 'An nrt stAnd. All personations
m this we do not stand. All personations
; 0f character appeal with great power to the mind,
1 and extraordinary force. The stoge
, is tberefore, as potent for good as it is for evil. I he
' Atft A t .; .n th fart of representations :
j bu, in character of these reoresenUtions. What
- . We now condemn i is the theatre as it is; and as 11
is acknowledged to be on all hands; and we do not
think the press is true to the well-being of the peo-
t . . m 1 . 1 .1 . .
pie, when it thrusts torwara witn ine prcscut un
due prominence, the drama as it is, and actors as
they are.
Of actors themselves, there are a few highly hon
able exceptions. M en and women, of virtue, who
adorn their profession. But, alas ! how few their
lieve, in the . least If any feel our remarks as
severe, we have only to say that we regard them
as true, and hold it to be our duty to speak with a
plainness that leaves our meaning clearly apparent
j Arthurs Home Gazette.
Thk oldest trees in the world are in Central Africa
the Boababs, which are 60 feet in circumference,
and contain the j rings which mark the annual
growth of the trees to the number of 9000, fixing
their age at that; length of years.
GREECE-REV. DR. KING.
"We have been favored says the Journal of Com.
merce with the following extract of a letter from an
American gentleman in Athens, 11 will be seen
that Rev. Dr. King's - trial (for x eviling of
the Greek religion,) had taken- place, though the
result was not yet known. In case of conviction,
he would be subjected to a few months' imprison
ment Athens, Saturday, Dec. 27, 1851.
Dr. King's trial, or rather the appeal from the
lower Court's decision (that he must be tried) to
the Areopagos, was' to have come off on the ,18th,
but delayed until the day before yesterday, when
it took place. It began with an excellent speech by
Mr, Pilikas, one of Dr, King's lawyers ; who is the
prytanis, or President, of the University, for the
year, He maintained that controversy was not re
viling the Greek relisrion. He quoted from many
French writers particularly ; and took occasion to
pay several handsome compliments, not only to
the Protestant religion, but also to our country,
which he styled thesoberest State on the face of the
globe ! ' Everybody was extremely pleased with this
speech, especially the lawyers. The king's attorney
in reply sppke not more than five minutes ; and
seemed to have nothing to answer, but to express
his horror at the very reading and hearing of the ac
cusation against Dr. King. No -more time was
allowed for the discussion, and so we shall not hear
until day after to-morrow what the decision of the
Court will be. But I am not very sanguine ; as the
corruption of the Courts is well known. A thousand
dollars distributed among the-judges and editors,
would carry Dr. King's cause with the greatest
ease ! But if after all it be decided in his favor, it
will prove, a triumph of religious liberty in Greece,
to which there can be taken no exception.
A Conundrum Convention. Mr. Anderson the
necromancer' having oftered two prizes for the best
original conundrums the first to a lady, a service
of silver valued at $400, the 2d, to a gentleman,
valued at $250, a large audience attended' his ex
hibition at. Metropolitan Hall on Friday, to hear
them read. A jury of 13 ladies was selected by
the audience to determine the second prize, and 13
gentlemen to award the first. A large number
were then read, producing considerable amusement
when the first prize was awarded by the i gentle
men's jury after an absence of an hour and a half,
to Miss Maria C. Bern, No. 108 Varick street It
was as follows :
"Why is the writer of this conundrum, like a
domestic servant out of employment ?
Because she wants to get a service, and is wil
ling to carry ofi the tea things.
Shortly before one o clock, a majority of the
Ladies Jury brought in a verdict in favor of the
conundrum 210, composed by Mr. John Morenos,
474 1-2 Broadway.- It was as follows :
210. Why ought the officers of the united
States army in the late war with Mexico to keep a
clothing store ?
Because they might -Bragg of having the best
Taylor and the hest -Wool; their goods May
always be sold for what they are Worth, and after
Counting their Gaines they could lay their heads on
their Pillow in perfect Bliss, and rest satisfied,
that no one could swindle them and go Scott free,
while they had a good rf alker to catch him and
shield them from loss JS'cwar k -ben.
Didn't Know his own Father. The upper
circles of Cincinnati have been supplied; with abund
ant materials for interesting gossip, by an incident
which recently occured in one of the nrst families-
Mr. B , a wealthy citizen of that city, was sit-
ting in his counting room a few days since, when a
stranger, somewhat roughly dressed, and homely
in appearance, entered and addressed him : " Is
your name .C ." " Yes." " So I suppose. I am
your father." " My father? impossible 1 he died
longer ago than I can remember. " So you have
been "told ; but it is not true ; and there is a lady
at your house who will confirm all I have said."
"My mother.- " res. lake me to her, and
you will be convinced." The two proceeded to
the house and appeared in the presence of the old
ladv.. There Was-a recognition and a start of
surprise a confused salutation, and the old lady
at once left the house. Ihe strangers statement
was confirmed. The particulars of this singular
occurrence are thus given. Mr. C.'s parents were
unhappy m their marnage relations ; they separat
ed, and were finally divorced the husband taking
two of the children and removing to Indiana, the
wife, taking the other two and adopting.Cincinnati
as her residence. For certain reasons she conceal
ed the fact of her former husband being alive from
every one, even her own children. , She afterwards
married again, but left her second husband on ac
count of his -intemperate habits, and was living
with her son when, the first lord of her person and
affections so suddenly made his appearance.
A DEAD SHOT!
The Milwaukee " Commercial Advertiser" tells
the following good story of U -, of Racine, an
indefatigable and successful sportsman a " dead
shot" at any thing in the game kind, but particu
larly u fine lined" on wild geese, whose heads were
sure to suffer, "jest back of the eye," if within' range
of his rifle : f
Not many seasons since, our hero, with an equal
ly fun-loving friend, after spending a day with their
dogs and guns, were wending their Way' homeward,
when in the evening twilight the waggish com
panion discovered the head and neck of a wild
goose peering through a neighboringfence.
" Stop your noise," said U, " and wait a bit I'll
have him, jest back of the eye you can bet your
life on that"
Stepping back a pace, and bringing. the old trusty
to his face, U. blazed away.
u Hallo, there " followed back the report, u what
are you shooting here for ? Don't you know the
difference between the handle of a corn plough and
a goose's neck ?"
Twas enough ! U. had shot the handle off of
a corn plough, "jest back of the eye T U. doesn't
very often indulge, but the sure mention of that
shot will open his heart to the crowd.
The' application for Jenny Lind's marriage certi-.
ficate, states that she is "thirty -one years of age, and
her spouse twenty-four.
TO HEND IBOH POTS aut. pATfg.
Mr. Editor In No. 9, this Volm of the Sci
entific American, I find a statement made, as com
municated all the way from China to our Patent
Office, about a mode of. reidiiJ-jxken iron
polsAnd atry'-H
about the same are just, and I shalLdflBeribe a mode
rach more cheap and simple, arid which will be of
great benefit, I have no doubt, to. many of your
readers.
i , ."'..
-Take two parts of sulphur and one part, ljr weight,"
6f fine black lead, and put the sulphur in an old ipon
pan, holding it over the fire until the sulphur begins "
to melt, when the black lead is added, stirred well
until al 1 is mixed and melted, and theD in its molten
state the compound is poured out on an jron plate
or s mooth stone. "When it has cooled down it ie
very hard, and is then broken in small pieces. A
qantity of this compound is placed upon tho
crack of the iron pot to be mended, and by a hot
iron it can be soldered in the same way a tinsmith
solders his sheets. . If there is a small hole in the
pot, it is a good plan to drive a copper rivet in it,
and then-solders it over with this cement. I know a
person who mended an iron pot by the above plan
upwards of twenty years ago, and he has used it ever
since. Scientific. Arnerican. -.."' - ,
' - i
Interpretation of Dreams. To dream of a
millstone round your neck is a sign of what you
may expect if you get an extravagant wife. To see
apples in a dream .betokens a wedding, because
where you find apples, you mayaaeonably expect
to find pears. To dream that you are lame is a
token that you will get into a hobble. . When a
young lady dreams of a coffin, it betokens that she
should instantly discontinue lacing her stays tight
ly, and always go warmly and thickly shod ni, wet
weather. If you dream of a clock, it is a token
that you will gain credit that is, tick. To dream
of fire is a sign that if you are "wise, you will see
that the lights in your home are out before you o
to bed. To dream that your hose is 'red at the tip
is an intimation that you had better leave dffbrandy
and, .water. To dream of walkuig bare-footed
denotes a journey that you will make bootless.
Antiquity of Gloves. If we follow the? read
ing of the 44 Targurti," or commentary of the Scrip
tures used by the Jews, the. invention of glovei -may
be traced back more than 1300 years before
Christ for the" Chaldean par.iphrase has glove
where the version renders the word shoe: a trans
lation which shows that even in those remote times .
the glove was given in confirmation of redeeming
or changing: " For to confirm all tilings, a man '
plucked off his shoe (i. glove), and gave it to his
neighbor; and tins was a testimony in Israel." In"
Ireland at this day when men are making bargains,
one may often hear" the expression, " My band and
word upon it;" and the glove with us, as the typo
of an engagement Tnay have been used in lieu of
the hand itself. With Eastern nations it was the
custom, in all cases of sales aiid deliveries of lands
or goods, to give the purchaser their gloves by '
way of investiture. -
NO JOKE.
" A Frenchman and myself," says a writer,
" were talkingjtogether ou the deck of a steamboat
A third persons stood by, and laughed whenever
we laughed. Supposing, of course, that h under
stood the subject, .1 appealed to him, and what
think you was the man's reply ? ' Why,. Lordy
massee, I couldn't make ou t what nary one o you
was talkin' about !' . And, by tUe way, this reminds
me of a still better joke. A Spaniard and I were
once talking together in Spanish, when a third
person burst out - laughing, and honestly ayowed
that she didn't believe either one of us understood
the other. Nor did she mean it for & joke; no,
indeed; the excellent woman was perfectly serious.
She looked upon our Spanish convocation as a sort
of gibberish manufactured for the occasion, .by
mutual consent.
Curious Motions. Procure a basin of milk-' i
warm water, throw into it half-a-dozen pieces of
.camphor about the size of a pea ; in a minute they
will begin to move, and acquire a rotary and pro
gressive motion, which will continue for a consider
able time. If now, one drop of oil of turpentine,
j or sweet oil, or even of gin (if allowed on the
i premises) be let fall upon the water, the pieces of
camphor will dart away, and be deprived of their
motion and vivacity. Little .pieces of cork, that,.
have been soaked in ether, act much in the same
way as camphor, when thrown ujon water.
Camphor, being highly combustible, will burn if
ignited while floating upon water, producing a
singular effect, reminding one of the lamps which
the Hindoo "maidens cast upon the waters of the
Ganges, as mystic messengers to their distant lovers,
-i ' i
W N. P. Willis bought a pair of garters at a
German Fair, painted in imitation of a wreath of
flowers, with a verse inscribed on them, which he
translated as follows :
w When niht with morning lingers.
Awake and stirring be,
And with your pretty fingers
Clasp this about your knee. " '"''
When day with eve reposes.
And stars begin to see, -Unclasp
this band of roses,
And, dearest think of me !"
Japan.: An imposing U. S. squadron is to visit
Japan, next summer, as has already been announc
ed. Some of the journals of Holland are urging
the Government of that country to induce the Em
peror of Japan to open his country to the trade of
the world; they think the abolition of the monopo
ly which Holland now enjoys trading with Japan,
would be a benefit to her and all the world, especial
ly the United States. B. Sun. '
CHiLi.-Gen. Cruz has surrendered to General
Bulnes, in command of the government forces, and
the revolution is suppressed. Bulnes had returned
to Santiago. This information was received by pas
sengers from Perti, who reached New York in the
Ohio. There is no doubt of its correctness.
Thcblow Weed, Esq, who is now in Taris, has
discovered a painting of the Genesee Falls, executed
in 1795 by a brother of Louis Philippe, while they
were passing through the country to Niagara Falls.
The owner has consented to make a present of it to
the city of Rochester, j "
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