the Secretary of this Institution, its trustees and other officers with whom he was in daily intercourse and communication are especially reminded "that in the midst of life we are in death," and forcibly taught "what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue."
Resolved, That in this afflictive dispensation of Providence, the community have to mourn the loss of one of their most excellent, worthy, and useful citizens, and the officers of this institution, a friend and an associate, who had by a long course of fidelity in his official position won their unqualified approbation of him as an officer, and by his amiable and courteous deportment in all his intercourse with them, their respect for him as a man.
Resolved, That we sincerly sympathize with the widow of our deceased friend and associate in her sudden and irreparable bereavement, and knowing how poor a solace in her affliction must be all consolation derived from earth, we commend her and her child, to a Power above, who though he afflicts, has promised to be their friend.
Resolved, As a further testimony of our respect for the memory and our regret for the loss occasioned by the so sudden decease of our friend, and of our sympathy with his bereaved family, we will attend his funeral in a body, wearing crape upon the left arm.
Resolved, That the President's address, together with the foregoing resolutions be entered on the minutes of this board, and that the clerk furnish a copy to be signed by the President and Secretary pro tem., and transmitted to the family of the deceased, and a copy for insertion in the city newspapers.
William Pitkin, President,
Geo. H. Mumford, Sec'y.
PERILOUS RUN-OFF.
Quite an excitement in the neighborhood of the Bridge on Buffalo Street, was created on Monday afternoon, by the running off of a horse—a buggy being attached, and a boy driving. The animal took fright, running off Buffalo Street into an alley in the rear of the machine mills adjoining the bridge, turning into a small alley which leads into the river, plunging full force into the water, when horse, buggy, and boy were washed by the threatening current of the dashing Genesee down the stream. Having presence of mind, the boy caught the pier or base of the butment as he passed, and holding on, was thus snatched from a watery grave.
From the Detroit Free Press—Extra.
FULL PARTICULARS OF THE BURNING OF THE PROPELLER PHŒNIX.
We have the painful news of the destruction of the Propeller Phoenix, together with upwards of 200 passengers, of which one hundred and fifty were Hollanders, on their way to settle in the west.
This melancholy news we get from the Engineer, who returned to this city on board the Delaware this day.
The Phœnix was bound up, and Sunday morning fast about 4 o'clock, when within 15 miles of Sheybogan, she was discovered to be on fire. After finding it impossible to extinguish the fire, and that all who remained on board would perish in the flames, many jumped overboard to save themselves as best they could.
About thirty got into the small boats many were picked up by the Delaware, which hove in sight after the Phœnix was in flames, hut not in time to render any assistance to those who remained on board, or were unable to get into the small boats
The engineer furnished us the names of those known to have been lost, and who he recollected by name.
Mr. West, lady and child, Racine.
Mr. Fisk and lady,
Mrs. Heath and sister, Little Fort,
Mrs. Long and child, Milwaukee,
J. Burroughs, Chicago,
D. Blish, Southport,
Two Misses Hazelton, Sheybogan,
About twenty-five other cabin and five steerage passengers; together with one hundred and fifty Hollanders.
Of the officers and crew were lost—
D. W. Keller, steward, Cleveland,
J. C. Smith, saloon keeper, Buffalo,
N. Merrill, 2d mate, Ohio City,
W. Owen, 2d engineer, Toledo,
H. Robinson, 1st fireman, Buffalo,
Deck Hands—T. Halsey, T. Ferteau, River St. Clair; J. Murdock, A. Murdock, Canada; George ,
Cabin boy—H. Tisdale, of Cleveland; body found,
Wheelsman—L. Southworth, New Bedford.
Two colored cooks, Detroit.
The names of those saved are—
Capt. Sweet, Ohio City,
Clerk—Donihue, River St. Clair,
Engineer, M. W. House, Cleveland,
1st Mate, H. Watts, Cleveland,
Wheelsman—A. G Kelso, Ohio City,
Deck Hand—J. Moon, Cleveland,
Fireman—Michael O'Brien, Buffalo,
2 Porter—R. Watts, Cleveland.
The Phœnix had the largest load of passengers and freight she could carry.
The loss of life above is the largest which ever occurred on the lakes, and the property lost is immense.
It is supposed that those 150 Hollanders had considerable money with them, as they were seeking a location in the west; but how uncertain is life! It is indeed mournful to record this sad catastrophe.
From the Cleveland Herald.
additional particulars.
We have conversed with Mr. M. W. House, engineer of the Phœnix, and from him received the following particulars in addition to those furnished by the Free Press.
The fire was discovered under deck, near the hark end of the boiler, and all possible means used to extinguish it, but without success. The two small boats were lowered away and instantly filled with those who escaped. Capt. Sweet, who had been confined to his state-room, one wheelsman and one deck hand were in one of the boats; the 1st mate, one fireman and 2d porter in the other; the balance of the load were chiefly Hollanders.
Mr. Donihoe, Clerk, Mr. House engineer, and one passenger, Mr. J. Lang, were all what were taken from the water alive. Donihoe and Lang were found under the stern, clinging to the wheels and the engineer on a float about 50 rods from the wreck. Those who were saved were taken up by the propeller Delaware, which was at anchor off Sheboygan at the time the fire commenced. The Delaware towed the wreck, which was completely gutted into Sheboygan, where it now lays aground. Much credit is due to Capt Tuttle and the crew of the Delaware for the prompt and humane assistance rendered by them on the occasion, and for the kind treatment extended to the sufferers whilst on their passage down.
SOME FACTS.
Looking over some calculations on the Census, of 1840, we found these results:
slaves—for every hundred whites.
| South Carolina has | 145 |
| Mississippi, | 109 |
| Florida, | 92 |
| Alabama, | 75 |
| Georgia, | 69 |
| Virginia, | 66 |
| North Carolina, | 50 |
| Kentucky, | 31 |
| Tennesee, | 28 |
| Maryland, | 28 |
| Arkansas, | 26 |
| Missouri, | 18 |
| The whole slave States number | 55 |
The staves are chieflly centered in the planting regions. You may find 2000 slaves in parts of South Carolina, to 100 whites—on the other hand there are districts having but few bond, In the low lands of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and in Florida and Louisiana negroes abound; in the hill country, or upland region they are limited in numbers. The same holds true of Mississippi, Tennessee, &c. But in East Tennessee, Western Virginia, &c., slavery is nominal. To make this subject plain let us arrange a table:
| North Alabama, | of population, | 30 per cent. |
| South Alabama, | do, | 49 per cent. |
| East Tennessee, | do. | 8 per cent. |
| West Tennessee, | do. | 48 per cent. |
The white population of Western Virginia is as large as Eastern. Yet Western has 56 representatives in the Legislature—Eastern 78!!! Indeed the apportionments of nearly all the Southern States, retain the power of these States in the hands of slave-holders.
From the Rochester Daily Advertiser.
HENRY CLAY ON SLAVERY.
The oracle of the Whigs has spoken; and "the Presidential question is settled," say his idolaters; at least so said they upon the reception of his Lexington Resolutions, although the telegraphic notice of his speech gave ominous presage that everything was not exactly "according to Gunter;" as we were told, that when he came to the Slavery question, "here the wires did'nt seem to work well;" and we were referred to the speech itself, which would be forthcoming in due time. In the interim, however, the Whig press shout loud hosannas, and attempt to Roarback the people into the notion, that Clay has come out upon Anti-Slavery ground; or is up "neck and neck" with the Wilmot proviso—that is, that he would interdict slavery in any new territory which might be acquired. Such a representation is a swindle and a fraud. Henry Clay totally avoids that issue, and sneaks behind the position of "no more territory," which he and every man knows to be a false issue; and under the circumstances of the case, an absurdity.
But let us hear the "great western." He says, "We disclaim in the most positive manner any desire on our part to acquire any foreign territory whatever for the purpose of introducing slavery into it. I do not know that any citizen of the United States entertains such a wish." This is the wonderful and "positive" disclaimer which has so inflated the Whigs, and has made Henry Clay President of the United States! A disclaimer, to which, upon Mr. Clay's own showing, every man in the South can subscribe. He, in short, endorses and defends the whole south from the charge of desiring territory "for the purpose" of extending Slavery. Yet Mr. Clay knew, and we all know, that these same men, millions of them, would move heaven and earth to prevent the passage of the Wilmot Proviso. They are determined to have territory, and Mr. Clay knew it. They are determined that there shall be no interdiction of slavery therein, and he also knew that. Is it any thing else than a pettifogging quibble, for him to disclaim for them and him, that they want territory "for the purpose" of extending slavery. If it is notorious that the south are determined to fight over the Missouri question again about this new territory, what care we for ten thousand disclaimers from Clay, Calhoun & Co., that slavery is not "the purpose" for which they want the territory. Has Mr. Clay come upon the republican ground of "Free labor upon free soil!" He has never approached the thought in his whole speech. Does he say any thing that looks like favoring a Wilmot Proviso? Let me quote the Wilmot Proviso: "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any territory hereafter acquired by the United States." Nothing like this appears in the speech, and to pretend that Mr. Clay favors such an idea is a gross fraud upon the people.
Does Mr. Clay profess any change of opinion on Slavery? So far from it, he refers to his past history and publicly expressed opinions, and claims that they have at least the merit of "consistency, uniformity, and long duration." On his own showing, Henry Clay, the author of the Missouri compromise, is "the same old coon." P.
For the North Star.
THE DYING SLAVE.
See the Slave in a dying hour. What hope—what consolation? If he be a valuable slave, he may receive medical aid and attention, from the same motive that prompts men to take care of a sick (valuable) horse. You may hear the master say, "I should hate to lose him, he is worth $700 cash, and I lost a fine fellow last week." But who cares for the immortal soul? Who sits by his pallet of straw, and points him to Jesus of Nazareth, "who taketh away the sins of the world—who changeth the leopard's spots, and maketh the Ethiop white?" Does the master leave his bed of down, and enter the miserable hut of the slave, and tell him that Jesus is no respecter of persons of condition, but made of one flesh all the nations of the earth? Does the mistress accompany her husband, and with all the tenderness which the female heart can exhibit, urge the dying chattel to be reconciled to his God? Do you think, young woman, you who cannot endure the presence of a colored man, even on a rail-road car, do you think that the daughter of the slaveholder, (who boasts of her fortune in human flesh,) leaves the social circle—gay companions—the fascinating dance—the midnight revel—to pray and weep with the dying slave?—Like a brute we compel him to live—like a brute he dies! and his blood is upon us, and will be upon our children, unless we do our duty as men and as christians.—J. V.
IMMIGRATION TO THE WEST INDIES.
We take the following from the Annual Report of the committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. It shows the necessity of keeping a sharp look-out over those in whose bosoms the haven of slavery has once had a place:
The Committee have frequently of late had to call attention to the mode of supplying the British colonies with foreign laborers, as unjust in principle, unwise in policy, and both inhuman and immoral in its character and tendencies. It should however be distinctly understood that they have never opposed the introduction of immigrants into the colonies, provided the conditions of such immigration were equitable and humane. All that they have required has been that the immigrants should be introduced either at their own expense, or at the expense of those requiring their services; that there should be an equality of the sexes in the immigrants imported; that the immigrants should be free to choose their employers and employments, on their arrival in the colonies; and that as perfect liberty of action should be secured to them as to any other class of the laboring population in the colonies. Instead of this, however, the immigrants except in comparatively few instances, are introduced at the public expense, the emancipated laborers being taxed heavily for this purpose; that the number of males introduced have been in the proportion of ten to one of females; that practically they have no liberty of choice, but are distributed according to the will of the colonial agents, or the wishes of the planters; and they are brought under a system of laws which reduces them to a species of semi-slavery, from which few have the means of escape, at least for five years.
Under the various schemes of immigration which have obtained at Mauritius, there have been introduced, from the year 1834 to 1846, inclusive, no less than 85,000 Coolies, chiefly males, besides several thousands of Malgaches, Chinese, Johannese, and others. Into British Guiana there have been imported, during the same period, of Africans, Coolies, Portuguese, Germans, and others, 33,000; whilst into Jamaica and Trinidad it is not improbable that 26,000 at least have found their way. Yet, owing to the fearful mortality which has occurred, the termination of indentures and contracts, and the return of immigrants to their homes, the cry for fresh immigrants is as loud as ever; and the resources of these colonies are drained to the uttermost to meet the demand, and are even put in pledge for years to come, as in the case of British Guiana and Trinidad, to repay capital and interest, in loans, to be raised for this particular purpose; whilst in Mauritius, funds that were specially devoted to public works, amounting to £300,000, have been misappropriated to immigration, with no prospect of their ever being repaid.
It is now clear however that two sources on which the Government and planters principally depended for a supply of laborers to the three colonies of Jamaica, British Guiana, and Trinidad have either failed, or are too costly to be kept open. The liberated Africans at Sierra Leone, with the exception of those who have recently been captured, refuse to leave that colony; and the expense connected with immigrants from British India is found to be too heavy for the colonies to bear. The Committee expect therefore that when the present season has passed, and the 16,000 Coolies promised have reached those colonies, there will be an end of that kind of immigration to the West Indias.
To meet the loss of supplies from the quarters indicated, the Goverment on the pressing solicitations of the West India body, have determined upon obtaining laborers from the Kroo Coast, Western Africa, and by way of experiment, have fitted up one of H. M. steam-vessels, the Growler, to go thither, and have appointed agents on the coast, to engage and superintend the shipment of Kroomen for Guiana and Trinidad. The Committee have felt it to be their duty earnestly to protest against this new scheme. First, because the Kroo coast is not under British jurisdiction or control; secondly, because the agents are to be paid head-money for obtaining the Kroomen; thirdly, because the Kroomen are, if not absolutely slaves, under the dominion of their headmen or chiefs, so that they can not act as free agents; fourthly, because they will not be permitted by their chiefs to take their wives and families with them; and fifthly, because it will afford a most pernicious example to foreign states, having slave colonies or territories to supply themselves with laborers nominally free, but really slaves, and thereby give a new stimulus to the slave-trade, with all its manifold horrors.
The Committee feel that this important subject demands the most serious attention of British abolitionists, and they hope will meet with their most strenuous opposition.
THE EAGLE ABROAD.
American Liberty.—American Eggs.—The American Eagle—the bird of Liberty—lays rotten eggs. This filthy fact is made evident by a letter written to the New York National Anti-Slavery Standard, by Frederick Douglass. He and Mr. Garrison lately proceeded as far as Harrisburg, to preach liberty to the benighted citizens of the freest nation of the earth; and their arguments were met with foul eggs, crackers, and brickbats—the arguments of the good and wise!
"I spoke only a few moments, when through the windows was poured a volley of unmerchantable eggs, scattering the contents on the desk in which I stood, and upon the wall behind me, and filling the room with the most disgusting and stifling stench."
Sweet odors, consecrated to the altar of Liberty, by free men! But the sacrifice was not completed—for pyrotechnic science bestowed "a pack of crackers;" and other worshippers at the shrine of Freedom offered, not frankincense or myrrh, but "cayenne pepper and Scotch snuff," that "produced their natural results among the audience!" And then arose a triumphant shout—"Throw out the nigger! Throw out the nigger!" And thereupon the "nigger," leaving the room, and gaining the street, there followed a shower of "stones and brickbats;" which are arguments so ready-made, and generally so easily obtained, that neither fool nor knave need be without them.
When Franklin was consulted about the design for the American insignia, he gave his veto against the proposed Eagle. It was a rascally, thievish, carrion bird, he said; and was unworthy of a free people. The Americans, however, as is proved in our time, knew better. They felt that the Eagle would very admirably typify the spirit of American Liberty. The Eagle steals her prey; America steals her blacks. The eagle will feed upon human flesh; so does America—that is, if the flesh have within it any negro blood. The eagle—that is, the free American Eagle, lays putrid eggs; nought wholesome, nought vital is produced from them. They are foul things, fit for no service. Oh, yes! They are arguments, strongest arguments against the liberty of the black—sweetest incense in the nostrils of the free white!—Punch.
LETTER FROM GEORGIA.
The following is from the pen of a correspondent of the Rochester American, supposed to be the former S—F., and shows to what servility and meanness a northern man will stoop to secure the favor of southern men-stealers.
That Georgia has more miles of rail-road in operation, than any other state in the Union may be true—we think it may be fairly doubted. He says, "The happiest people I see here are the negroes." We hardly know how to receive this—one thing we know is that if the slaves are the happiest, the masters must be in a most wretched condition!
"Georgia has more miles of railway now in operation than any other State in the Union. Indeed her citizens display far more enterprise than I expected to find when I left Rochester. There are 30 cotton factories in the state, all doing a profitable business. Manufacturing is fast becoming popular, not only in Georgia and in South Carolina, whose leading men have long cherished a kind of cotton-mill phobia.—Twelve miles from Augusta, in that State, a company is now erecting a factory 250 feet in length and 50 in width, of granite, beside two other buildings, 80 feet by 40, saw-mills, dwellings, &c. &c. The concern owns 9000 acres of land, had a good water power, and will build up a flourishing village on a sterile pine plain. The name of the village is "Graniteville."
The corporation of this town has tapped the Savannah above the Falls, and dug a canal 11 miles by which a large volume of water is brought into the city, and presents to the manufacturer a fall of 30 feet. The Savannah is a large river, and of course there is no lack of power. The fourth story of a cotton-mill to drive 10,000 spindles, now approaches its completion. Slaves are not to be employed as operatives. Unfortunately there are too many poor white families at the South seeking employment. It is from this class that laborers are to be drawn without the unpleasant association of blacks.
The happiest people I see here are negroes. Whatever may be the price of cotton and corn, or the injury from the army-worm, rain, or drowth, the blacks have white men who are bound by law to feed, clothe, and house them in exchange for a very small service. Thousands of planters are kept poor because their slaves consume more than they earn.
The most remarkable feature in southern society is the extreme reluctance with which men sell a portion of their slaves, when the number is plainly too large for a plantation of poor land. All suffer together rather than divide, and sever the strong tie of family attachment. In nine cases out of ten, it is the whites, the masters, who feel the evil of slavery, not their happy, laughing, dancing, healthy servants. The rapidity with which they multiply is a caution to those who have no particular affection for the race. The millions of negroes in the United States, one of these days, may be troublesome, whether bond or free.—I could wish that measures were taken to educate them in slave as well as in free states. Had the abolitionists not interferred in the matter, by this time schools for children of color would have been quite as common here as schools for white children. The advantages of the latter arc nothing in comparison with those of the children of the state of New York.—There are many slaves however, who are taught to read and write—the law to the contrary notwithstanding. I have just been shown a written letter from the pen of a girl eighteen years old, who is an educated slave. Her mistress taught her. As the whites rise in civilization, intellectual and moral improvement, they elevate all their servants in an equal ratio. Intelligence and good habits are easily and naturally acquired by children in good society. Place them from infancy to manhood in the society of the ignorant and depraved, and it will be something akin to a miracle if they are better than their instructors.
The sparseness of the settlements at the South, and its poor lands are the great barriers to the general and thorough education of the masses, who must elevate the blacks by their example. The building up of numerous villages of intelligent mechanics, and the creation of markets for fruits, vegetables, milk, butter, cheese, fresh meats, &c. demanding a large number of laborers to cultivate in gardens, and many acres of land, is the way to lay the foundation for good schools, libraries, lyceums, churches, lectures, newspapers, and all the other means and agents for the social, moral, and intellectual advancement of our race. It is not for me to reproach any people for their ignorance and low standard of physical comfort, who from their birth upward have never had a fair opportunity to be better informed.—Give to the children of the South all the social, intellectual, and other advantages possessed by the most favored of the free states, and you will see in twenty-five years a perfect change of opinion on many vital questions. The southern heart is right, and its head is beginning to look and travel in the same direction.
There are too many of the more ignorant people of this quarter of the Union who sustain the administration in its mad idea of conquering and holding as American territory all Mexico. If the scheme shall carry, it will be found that not a slave state can be found west of the Rio-Grande—all will be free. What will the South gain? L.
Ignorance in Alabama.—Such is the title of an article in the Southern (Alabama) Advocate, on the subject of popular education, in the course of which the following statement is made, founded upon the census of 1840:
"By that document, we find that the white population of the State then amounted to about three hundred and thirty-five thousand, (335,185,) and that, of these, the number over twenty-one years of age alone who could neither read nor write amounted to upwards of twenty-two thousand, (22,592!) Twenty-two thousand citizens in a Republican State, who could not read the charter of their liberties! Twenty-two thousand in a Christian land, to whom the Scriptures, the guide of moral conduct, were as much a sealed book as to the unhappy beings in the darkest regions of Paganism! These are astounding facts—they are disgraceful—they are mournful."
By referring to the census, it will be found that the number of white persons in Alabama over twenty years of age was 130,897. The fair estimate, then, is, that almost one in every five adult white persons in Alabama in 1840 could neither read nor write! And we have the testimony of this writer, that the evil has been steadily increasing since the census was taken. He attributes it, in some cases, to the worthlessness of the school lands donated by Congress; and in others, to the neglect or mismanagement of them. The truth is, the Legislature has provided no system of public education, and the reason of this is obvious. It was stated by Senator Archer, of Virginia, in a short address delivered by him in Cincinnati, a few months ago, at the close of the annual examination of the Common Schools by which that city is adorned:
"Senator Archer," said the Cincinnati Times, "remarked, at the close of the examination, that he now saw, for the first time, evidence of the practicability of popular education. No one, (he said,) who had been so long conversant with political matters as he had, could doubt that the only safeguard of our free institutions is the diffusion of sound knowledge among the whole people. It was to him a source of deep regret that, in his own State, from the nature of its population, the establishment of a system of public schools had been impracticable."
This is the secret of it. "The nature o the population" prevents. The Plantation thins out the free white population, and what should be a school district, is occupied by a few wealthy slaveholders with hordes of slaves. To the latter, education is forbidden, and the former do not live near enough to keep up a school; and even were this not the case, their habits dispose them to employ private tutors, or send them to boarding schools, rather than suffer their children to mingle with these of the poor at a common school. But the poor alone cannot keep up schools; and thus anything like a system of popular education is effectually prevented.—Wash. Era.
From the Chronotype.
Hydropathy.—We have heretofore called the attention of our readers to the Water Cure Establishment of Dr. Ruggles in Northampton, and take pleasure in copying from the Hampshire Herald, the following very remarkable testimony to his skill and success. The Doctor, as our readers already know, is blind. He was not regularly educated to the profession, but in a man of native and good sense, and a strong, enquiring mind. By the activity of his mind his eyesight became impaired, and in his efforts to reclaim it, having suffered much of many physicians, he became totally blind.—Yet he availed himself of this greatest of earthly losses to acquire a medical education, both new in its mode and wonderful in its results. He employs that delicacy of touch which it is well known the intelligent blind always acquire, to judge of the electrical state of the skin, and upon the knowledge which this gives him of the action and obstructions of vital functions, he proceeds in his water treatment. Whatever be the thought of this theory on which Dr. Ruggles builds his practice, nothing can be more certain than his remarkable success. Some cases he rejects at once as hopeless; but when he undertakes a cure, he rarely fails to astonish and gratify the patient. The writer of the following letter, Rev. Payson Williston, is the father of Hon. Samuel Williston of East Hampton, and J. P. Williston of Northampton, well known in the annals of Massachusetts liberality. We are informed that Dr. Ruggles has prescribed for upwards of 150 persons, the past year, who have consulted him with regard to their cases, independent of these connected with his cure.
Mr. Ruggles' Water Cure.—Having experienced substantial benefit from the Cold Water system, as practiced at the Northampton Water Cure, by Dr. David Ruggles, and believing that it may be interesting to others who may be afflicted, I thought it due to the cause to request that you would favor me with a place in your paper, to make a brief statement of my case. I am 84 years of age—find with the exception of a lameness in my right leg, which was caused by an injury about forty years ago, I have enjoyed a greater degree of health than has fallen to the lot of most men. For seven years after this injury I was obliged to use two crutches; but by degrees my lameness decreased, so that I was finally enabled, with the aid of one staff, to walk comfortably a mile or two at a time. About two years ago, however, without any apparent cause, other than the infirmities of increasing age, my leg again troubled me. It became much inflamed and swollen, and at times painful.—Exercise aggravated all these bad symptoms, and though I obtained the advice of various physicians, eminent in their profession, their appliances proved useless, and some of them injurious. My limb grew worse until I was almost confined to my house, and my leg, in addition to the swelling and inflammation, assumed a dark purplish color from the knee to the ankle; the skin was almost dead, and it appeared on the point of breaking out into a running sore and I was instructed by my physicians to use palliatives, as it was believed nothing further could be done than to render me comfortable. These bad symptoms began to make their appearance above the knee, and assumed a more serious aspect, affecting my general health and appetite. In this condition I was persuaded to consult Dr. Ruggles in relation to the adaptedness of the Water Cure in my case. Alter a careful examination of my limb and the attending symptoms, by his peculiar method, he expressed his belief that water would relieve me. I immediately placed myself his care, and in less than eight weeks was entirely relieved of all pain and inflammation, and every other bad symptom, and was able to walk comfortably from three to four miles daily, with no other aid than one staff, as formerly. It is now about two months since I left the Cure, and I am still improving in strength and general health, so that I have within the past week walked two miles at one time.
Payson Williston.
Easthampton, Oct. 25th, 1847.
W. C. Nell.—The following handsome compliment to our friend and co-laborer, we copy from the Liberator of Nov. 26. It is a tribute from Wendell Phillips, Esq.
Mr. Nell has left for Rochester, where he will assist in the office of the paper which Frederick Douglass is about to publish there. Those of his friends who have occasion to write to him, will please notice that his address is now, Rochester, New York.
Mr. Nell has won for himself, in his native place, an enviable character for urbanity, high moral character, and integrity above suspicion. The various associations of our colored friends for moral, literary, and social purposes, will lose in him a most efficient, devoted, and indefatigable, friend, and one whose exertions have often been the mainstay of such enterprises. He carries with him the good wishes and kind remembrance of those who have witnessed his earnest efforts to improve and elevate himself and his fellows, and his generous interest in every good cause.
Death of Dr. Hopkins.—We are pained to announce the death of Rev. Dr. Hopkins of Buffalo. This event, as we leant by A Telegraphic letter to Rev. Mr. Shaw of this city, occurred at one o'clock on Saturday morning.Daily Dem
MISCELLANEOUS.
Novel-reading Monomaniacs.—It is a pity that the trashy literature of the day should find readers within the walls of a college; yet it is thus that some spend too much of their valuable time. As an instance of this, I am going to repeat here a great story. A graduate of Harvard told me that, during his college life, he read three thousand volumes of fiction. "Three thousand!" you exclaim; "impossible! he must have said three hundred." Three thousand, he assured me; and his veracity, is unquestionable. Nor did the evident regret with which he spoke of it admit of any motive to exaggerate. But let us see if it be, possible, and if it be, the well known mania, of novel-reading, in some persons, makes it probable. In four years, including one leap-year, there are 1461 days; he had then, to read but two volumes and a fraction daily, Sundays included. Rising early, and reading far into the night, he was able to do this. He used, he said, to run into Boston on his feet, every evening during twilight, to the book shops and circulating libraries, to return volumes and obtain others. I had thought this an unparalleled instance in the history of novel-reading—as among students I hope it is. But happening to speak of it to a friend, he mentioned the following: Being with two gentlemen at a book store in New York, at which was kept a circulating library, one of them remarked that an acquaintance of his was accustomed to read two hundred volumes of novels in a year. The other thought it incredible. The first, turning to the bookseller, asked what was the largest number of volumes drawn by one person from his library, in a year. Referring to his books he found that a certain lady had taken four hundred and fifty sets, mostly two-volumed, making about nine hundred volumes. This would amount, in four years, to 3600; so that the fair one beat the collegian by six hundred.—Recollections of College Life.
New York Canals.—Receipts from tolls on all the canals of New York since the commencement of navigation to the 7th of November, $3,352,451. Same time last year, $2,483,541.
Magnetic Telegraph.—The Agent of the Magnetic Telegraph Company, in a letter to the editor of the Mobile (Ala.) Register, states that the telegraph line between N. Orleans and Washing. will be in operation by the first of January next. It is about 1300 miles long, and much of it passes through a real wilderness —over rivers, straits and swamps.
Keep a Secret.—Anything revealed in confidence should be kept secret. There is no greater breach of good manners and Christian faith, than to reveal that which has been placed in the secrecy of your own bosom. What if the friend who once trusted you and told you the secrets of his heart, has become your enemy? You are still bound to keep your word inviolate, and preserve locked in your heart the secrets confidentially made known to you. A man of principle will never betray even an enemy. He holds it a Christian duty never to reveal what was placed in his keeping. While the Albanians were at war with Philip, King of Macedon, they intercepted a letter that the king had written to his wife, Olympia. It was returned unopened, that it might not be read in public—their laws forbidding them to reveal a secret.
Among the Egyptians, it was a criminal offence to divulge a secret. A priest who had been found guilty of this offence, was ordered to leave the country.
Have you a secret reposed in your bosoms? Reveal is not for the world. A confiding friend may tell you a hundred things, which if whispered abroad, would bring him into ridicule, and injure his character through life. No one is so upright that he may not have committed, some ungentlemanly act, or some impure offence, which may have secretly been confided to another. The fault may have been perpetrated years ago, before the individual's character was formed, and before he had a wife and children. Would it not be a profanotion of the most social duties, in a fit of anger, or out of malice or revenge, to divulge a secret like this?
A man's enemies would not care whether it was the fault of his thoughtless youth or his maturer years, so long as they could make a handle of it to his injury, and thus effect their purpose. Be careful then never under any consideration whatever, to repeat what has been whispered to you in the confidence of friendship. A betrayer of secrets is fit only for the society of the low and the vile. D. C. C.
Cure for Consumption..—An officer in the British service, resident in the East Indies, had been stricken with the fatal disease, and was reduced by it to nearly a skeleton; his friends looked upon him as a doomed man. and he himself had given up all hopes of long continuance of life. He was one morning crawling about his grounds, and accidentally went into a shed where a man had been bottling some wine, and at the moment of his master's entrance had just melted some rosin to seal the corks with. It could not be otherwise than that those within the room should inhale the smoke arising from the rosin. To the surprise of the afflicted one, his respiration became free and unobstructed, and it instantly occurred to him that the relief he experienced was produced by his having inhaled the rosinous smoke. He remained better during the day, and without consulting his doctor, repeated the experiment in his sleeping room. That night he slept soundly—a blessing he had not known for years.
Twice a day, for a week, did he continue his experiment, and with increased success. He then mentioned the affair to his medical adviser, who was equally surprised with himself at the improvement of the patient's health, and advised him to continue the inhalations night and morning.
In the space of three months his cough left him, and his appetite returned. In six months his health was so improved that he contemplated returning to his native country; he delayed, however doing so, until a year had expired. Still persisting in his new found remedy, his health was completely restored, and he was once more a sound man.
Newspapers.—A newspaper can drop the same thought into a thousand minds at the same moment. A newspaper is an adviser, who does not require to be sought, but who comes to you of his own accord, and talks to you briefly every day of the common weal, without distracting your private affairs. Newspapers, therefore, become more necessary in proportion as men become more equal, and individualism more to be feared. To suppose that they only serve to protect freedom, would be to diminish their importance: they maintain civilization.—De Tocqueville.
Eloquence.—The best style, as Coleridge has remarked, is that which forces us to think of the subject, without paying attention to the particular phrases in which it is clothed. The true excellency of style is to make us feel that words are absorbed in things, and to leave upon the mind a strong impression of the sense and the tenor of the reasoning, rather than a broken and piecemeal recollection of particular expressions and images; the result, on the contrary, if not the intention, of too much pulpit oratory, is to fill the ear with a multitude of grand terms, and bewilder the fancy with a crowd of tropes, while it is comparatively ineffectual in stamping the general argument or exhortation upon the understanding.—British Critic.
Men can be good to all.—I never yet knew any man so bad, but some have thought him honest, and afforded him love; nor ever any so good, but some have thought him evil, and hated him. Few are so stigmatical as that they are not honest to some; and few, again, are so just as that they seem not to some unequal: either the ignorance, the envy, or the partiality of those that judge, do constitute a various man. Nor can a man in himself always appear alike to all. In some, nature hath invested a disparity; in some, report hath foreblinded judgment; and in in some, accident is the cause of disposing to love or hate. Or, if not these, the variation of the bodies' humors; or, perhaps, not any of these. The soul is often led by secret motions, and loves she knows not why. There are impulsive privacies which urge us to a liking, even against the parliamental acts of the two Houses, reason, and the common sense; as if there were some hidden beauty, of a more magnetic force than all that the eye can see; and this, too, more powerful at one time than another. Undiscovered influences please us now with what we would sometimes contemn. I have come to the same man that hath now welcomed me with a free expression of love and courtesy, and another time hath left me unsaluted at all; yet, knowing him well, I have been certain of his sound affection; and have found this, not an intended neglect, but an indisposedness, or a mind seriously bruised within. Occasion reins the motions of the stirring mind. Like men that walk in their sleep, we are led about, we neither know whither nor how.
A timid man can never become great; if he possesses talent he cannot apply it; he is trampled upon by the envious and awed by the swaggering; he is thrust from the direct path which leads to honor and fame by every aspirant who possesses more spirit than himself.
A Study from Nature.—The beautiful statue of the "Greek Slave," by Mr. Powers, has excited such universal admiration, that a companion to it, we understand, will be shortly exhibited by the same artist, under the title of "The American Slave." It is the figure of a negro, with his hands fastened with a chain, on the manacles of which is cut the American Eagle. Round his back is wrapped the national flag, on which the stripes are conspicuously displayed. The crouching attitude of the figure is moot wonderfully depicted, but the statue is most to be admired for its powerful truth and unaffected simplicity. We have been assured by gentlemen who have had opportunities of judging by frequent visits to the Land of Liberty, that they have never seen anything an wonderfully true to nature.—Punch.
Equal Suffrage in Connecticut.—The proposition to abolish the distinction between colored people and whites in aspect to the right of suffrage, was rejected by the people of Connecticut. As far as heard from, the votes stand: For the proposition—5,248. Against it—6884.
The next Congress.—From a statement of the names of the members elect of the next Congress in the Journal of Commerce, it appears that the House will contain ond hundred and ten democrats and one hundred and eighteen whigs. The Senate will contain a democratic majority of fourteen.
The License Question in Vermont.—The Vermont Legislature has settled the license question, by the dismissal, 91 to 88, of a bill intended to repeal the laws of last year, allowing the people to decide by a popular vote whether the traffic in liquor shall be permitted in the State.
The packet ship Wellington, which sailed from New York on Wednesday for London, had about $100,000 on board, and the Havre packet took out a considerable amount.
John Quincy Adams visited the Park Theatre last evening, and was greeted in the most enthousiastic manner by the crowded house. The venerable patriot made his appearance just as the curtain had fallen on the first act of 'La Somnambula.' He was immediately recognized by several gentlemen in the pit. The honored name passed in an instant over the house, and inspired by one common impulse, the auditory burst into three cordial shouts of welcome. The 'old man eloquent' bowed his acknowledgements, and another cheer shook the walls of the Theatre. It was altogether one of the most unaffected, sincere and thrilling exhibitions of patriotic feeling that we ever witnessed. It was no expression of heated partisanship, but the spontaneous manifestation of popular love and reverence for one of the purest of American statesmen.—N. Y. Tribune.
Depopulation of Virginia.—The Parkersburg Gazette informs us that upwards of seventy emigrants, a few days ago, passed through that town, from the Valley of Virginia, on their way, with a large number of slaves, to Missouri, and the remainder to Iowa. Thus says the Gazette, is Virginia peopling other States, when she ought to hold her own, and attract immigration from abroad.
The Norfolk Herald, in view of this depopulation, invites emigrants from the North and East to fill up the places of the slaveholders, over whose departure it rejoices, and anticipates the day as a happy one when they shall all be gone.
Marriage.—The intervention of a priest or other ecclesiastical functionary, was not deemed indispensable to a marriage, until the Council of Trent, 1409. The celebrated decree passed in that session, interdicting any marriage otherwise than in the presence of a priest, and, at least, two witnesses. But before the time of Pope Innocent III, (1818,) there was no solemnization of marriage in the church, but the bridegroom came to the bride's house and led her home to his own, which was all the ceremony then used. Banns were first directed to be published by Canon Walter, in the year 1100.—Cleveland Herald.
The Kissing Beggar..—Among the beggars who now frequent the principal hotels in New York, is a little girl who obtains a living by kissing. She entered Rathbun's Hotel, and stepping up to a number of gentlemen, bent down and kissed their hands, and then, with a beautiful smile playing over her countenance, she held forth her own hand to receive the expected reward. She could not have been over five years of age, and must have departed with a good supply of pennies.
Glass Pens.—Wonders will never cease.—Glass is now made into all sorts of things.—There is cloth manufactured in England of glass, and it has even been used as the mainspring of a chronometer, and answered well for such a purpose. But for a pen to be made of glass, who would have believed it! Yet it is so, and most excellent writing pens they are. It is well known that with a flux of lead in combination with the silicon, in right proportions, glass can be made very ductile. These pens are now becoming not uncommon, and they are perfectly anti-corrosive by the most impure ink.—Scientific American.
Cap Paper.—This term, an abbreviation of foolscap, is derived from the water mark introduced upon paper by the Parliament of the Commonwealth, which was a fool's cap and bells, in mockery of the Royal arms used as a water mark by Charles I. Hence the term foolscap paper subsiding into "cap." Post paper was so called in contradistinction, because used to send by "post" or mail.—Detroit Free Press.
As good as if it were Æsop.—The Nantucket Islander says that the following story was lately told by a reformed inebriate, as an apology for much of the folly of drunkards:
"A mouse ranging about a brewery, happening to fall into a vat of beer, was in imminent danger of drowning, and appealed to a cat to help him out. The cat replied, 'it is indeed a very foolish request, for as soon as I get you out, I shall eat you.' The mouse piteously replied, 'that fate would be better than to be drowned in beer.' The cat lifted him out, but the fumes of the beer caused puss to sneeze; and the mouse took refuge in his hole. The cat called upon the mouse to come out—'you sir, did you not promise that I should eat you?' 'Ah!' replied the mouse, but you know I was in liquor at the time!'
Beauties of Lynch Law.—Some citizens of Montioke, Iowa, who were lately about to lynch some poor fellows for the murder of a man, were peculiarly fortunate in not carrying their unlawful purpose into execution. It turns out that the fellow supposed to have been murdered, had enlisted in the U. S. Army, and was at the Jefferson barracks; and it was only his resorting to a despicable trick—staining a hatchet &c. through revenge—that any one at all was accused of the murder.
Hope On.—Hope on, frail mortal! What though thy path be rugged, and strawed with thorns—thou hast only to persevere, and thy reward awaits thee. Many days and nights, perhaps years, hast thou struggled with adversity.
What though thou art poor, despised by these, it may be, who are thy inferiors in all save wealth! What matters it that thy short life is exposed to the rude blasts of adverse fortune, if at last thou art crowned with immortality, which those who rudely push thee from them think not of. Hope on then in thy poverty—be honest in thy humility—aspire to be truly great by being truly good.
Exercise.—Throughout all nature, want of motion indicates weakness, corruption, inanimation awl death. Trenck, in his damp prison, leaped about like a lion, in him fetters of seventy pounds weight, in order to preserve his health; and an illustrious physician observes: "I know not which is most necessary for the support of the human frame—food or motion. Were the exercises of the body attended to in a corresponding degree with that of the mind, men of learning would be more healthy and vigorous—of more general talents—of more ample practical knowledge; more happy in their domestic lives; more enterprising and attached to their duties as men. In fine, with propriety it may be said that the highest refinement of the mind, without improvement of the body, can never present anything more than half a human being."
Printing.—Cincinnati has a larger power press printing office than can be found in Boston. One establishment has nine of Adams' power presses running, four of them with all the late improvements, and all propelled by water power.
East India Cotton.—The export of cotton from Bombay to Great Britain, in each of the past years, was as follows:—1845, 80,376 bales; 1846, 42,772 bales; 1847, 151,786 bales.
