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MISCELLANEOUS.
[By. Request.]
[From the N. Y. Christian Inquirer.]
Personal Religion.
R E L I G I O U S E X P E R I E N C E .
A Dialogue between a Religious Inquirer and a Chris-
tian Friend.
In quirer. I wish you would tell mo how a man
can learn to desire what he does not desire , but has
reason to think he ought to.
Friend. What do you mean ? Wh y should a
mit" try to wish for what he does not ?
Inq. That is for you Christians to answer , and I
wish I could be satisfied that you are wrong in your
common urgency (hat men should have feelings
which are not natural to them , and become sensible.
of wants which they do not suffer from ; and in
short , should desire to be what they do not desire to
be.
¦
Fr. All , I understand you now. You think you
ought to be # Christian , and yet do not feel any de-
sire to be one, and your difficulty is to know how
you can become one without desiring it.
Inq. Precisel y. I am neither unhappy, nor tired
of the world ; nor conscious of any special inward
wants; nor do I feel any necessity of taking up with
religion as a last resource. Were I left to my
own mind and conscience , 1 should not know-that
everything was not right there. My life has been
not a good life. I have lived upri ghtl y, not use-
lessly, not negli gentl y; have been a good parent; a
grateful child ; a respectable citizen. I do not hon-
estly feel that I can call myself a great sinner. I
tnnke no pretensions to superior excellence , or con-
scientiousness. But I have no fears of death or jud g-
ment voluntaril y arising in my mind. And yet 1
know I am not reli gious ; am not a Christian.
Fr. But wh y, with such feelings, are you a reli-
gious seeker ? What induces you to look into this
subject ? If you have no conscious want , no inward
monitions , no soreness of conscience , wh y should
you suspect yourself to be in any spiritual destitu-
tion , or even imag ine there is anything real in
piety ?
Inq. I have been reading the New Testament
latel y, as much from curiosity as anything, and be-
cause I hear so many peop le talk about the instruc-
tion and peace they derive from it , and I certainl y
find it a demand for feelings which I do not possess.
" speaks of repentance , and of the need of God's
mei'cy, and of prayer , and of communion with God ,
111 a.way f.],at corresponds with nothing I know any-
thing about , and yet with a sort of earnestness that
lightens me. Then , again , there is my friend A.,
who is very anxious about me , and is always urging
•ne to give my attention to reli gion. Now ,if A. were
n°l just such a person as he is, I should not attach
touch importance to what he says ; but he is so pc-
culiarl y good and true , and his goodness is of so dif-
ferent a sort from mine , that I cannot hel p being
moved by him/and feeling that he has got hold of
80|nething important , and possesses some peculiar
Experience very precious in his own eyes , which I
*ant to understand.
¦Fr. Are these the onl y reasons for your reli gious
"Ixietv ?
In q. Not quite. I have been in the habit of at-
tending church all my life—not with much interest ,
" ls 'rue—but latel y, since A. has talked to me so
>-i>ueh , am] since I began to read with a little fresli
nterest in (|ie uew Testament , our minister has
«emed to me to be preaching at me. I half suspect
11
0 °f having talked with A., for he bears down on
my case with a great deal of earnestness and eon-
*nc)"i and sometimes half persuades me that some-
^
lnS is wrong about me. Indeed , I know that he
fe V
not k° satisfied with my present views and
„,* Rs> «nrt yet I think he would be puzzled to tell
- *W is the matter , or what I need , or how to
th'
"' ^''ero '8 Slien a vagueness and mystery about
. Sv> hole matter in the pul pit , that I believe I mi ght
]• " « u < i i m r ill lilt: | » u i[m , i i u n j "v- " ^ ' ^ -* "¦
'-, *•»
j|
*n
''" doomsday witho ut being any better off for
'U' rilere is nothin g very strange in people's
n
' lnS mistakes about their condition , their happ i-
¦' 'eir Wants. An ignorant man is hel ped by his
«oi
°
h
Un <1 isnori
"u'°- t0 imag ine himself wise. A per-
¦
"• .1
louSht ur> in "reat discomfort thinks anything
i/^liort of n * * "
i"a s " ¦ P°SUlve Pa'n l0 be pleas ure. So, perhaps,
^
' ' 'hat has never regarded itself as under an
co
Of truth and goodness , may not feel any
kj 1(lemnation for fallin g short of it , nay, may not
^
Ow that it falls short of it. Just as the born blind
¦
/ well wonder how peop le can want any better
"An their fingers ; so those who are living in
•• world and partaking of its pleasures and advan-
dn '• ^
wonder how any persons can ask for
ything morej or better.
^
^Q- You intimate , then , that I may be trul y
ctejied Witaout knowing it; or sick and diseased ,
with a false feeling of health ? But if "ignorance is
bliss," is it not "foll y to be wise ?"
Fit. I can onl y appeal to your own confession.
Arc you ignorant ,or can you ever again be content ,
when vonr mind has been as you admit , and in spite
of your own feelings,providentiall y drawn to this sub-
j ect in the way that our present conversation mani-
fests ? It seems to me that this is the very way in
which alone God can speak to a child of His , when ,
throug h lon.g neg lect or early misfortune , the spir it-
ual senses have in a manner , been lost. He cannot
touch the conscience , that is sheathed ; he cannot
move the heart , that is frozen. But throug h the un-
derstanding which the woild has sharpened , he can
make an appeal of the very sort which you have
felt. You have observed that friends whom you
respect have something you want. You notice that
a large part of the world talk very earnestl y about
reli gion , and religious experience. Your curiosity
is excited to look into the Bible. Preaching arrests
your attentio n. All combine to make you say, as a
reasonable being : It becomes me to probe this mat-
ter ; my permanent interests are concerned here ; I
have , it is true , no notion of what is lacking in me;
I am not driven by pangs of censcienee or an aching
void ; but I am impelled to put myself voluntaril y
under influences , and to use means recommended ,
that I may make trial of this unknown matter called
reli gion.
Inq. Wh y, you speak as if a reli gions experience
were like an electric shock , which a man mi ght hear
ever so lucid an account of, but never could under-
stand without taking it ; or as if a man were to try
reli gion , as he would try the Water Cure or the
Homeopathic treatment.
Fit. Well , in a certain sense I do not shrink from
these illustrations. I think nobod y can tel l what
prayer is, or what it will do for him , till he faithfull y
tries it; or what the Bible is, till he goes to it with a
sing le desire to receive its instruction.
In'Q. But then , how can one pray ari ght , or how
can one desire to know the meaning of the Bible ,
when the state of mind and feeling imp lied in the
ri ght and honest and heart-felt exercise of these acts ,
is just the very thing he is in search of—is , in short ,
as near as I can find out , reli gion itself?
Fit. No w, you seem to be coming right to the
point. You must learn to pray and learn to read
your Bible,just as you learn anything else. The boy
that would not go into the water till he knew how to
swim , was just as wise as the man that will not pray
until he knows how to pray satisfactoril y. God
blesses every sincere desire to learn the way to him-
self. He commands you to pray ; and Jesus tells
you what it is to pray, and furnishes you a formula
to pray by. Obey him. You cannot do any better
than you can. You are not responsible for your
feelin gs; for the pleasure you find in prayer ; but
you are responsible for doing what God bills you.
There is a first step for you to take. You don 't
know , if you are sick , what the doctor will give you
when you go to him. Your duty consists in putting
yourself under his care ,and in taking what he gives
you. So in reli gion. You cannot feel as you mi ght
desiro ; but you can act as you ought. If you fol-
low out faithfull y onl y the very li ght which you have
acknowled ged yourself to possess, you cannot fail to
come in due time into the possession of a tiue reli-
gious experience. Thus , althoug h you know not
now what you need , and mi ght not even know you
needed anything, were you not told so in a way that
makes you fear or believe it is true , and althoug h
von cannot even desire a frame of mind such as you
have no experience of, yet you can , by following
the way I have suggested , approach the true reli-
gious life , and acquire all those gracious and blessed
experiences which you have noticed in A, and in
others , and which you diml y see shadowed forth in
your Bible.
Inq. I thank you for your counsel , and will try
bv God's blessing, to turn it to some account.
"1 never can keep anything, " cried Emma , al-
most stamp ing with vexation. "Somebod y always
takes my things away and loses them." (She had
mislaid some of her sewing imp lements.)
"There is one thing, " remarked mamma , "that I
know that you might keep if you would try."
"I should like to keep even one thing, " answered
Emma.
"W ell , then , my dear ," resumed mamma , "kee p
your temper ; if you will onl y do that , perhaps , you
would find it easy to keep other things. I dare say,
now , if you had employed your time in searching
for the missing articles , you might have found them
before this time ; but you have not even looked for
them.
"You have onl y got into a passion—a bad way of
spending time—and you have accused somebod y,
very unjustl y, too, of taking away your things and
losing them. Keep your temper , my dear ; when
you have mislaid any article , keep cool , and search
for it. You had better keep your temper , if you
lose all the little propert y you possess ; getting into
a passion never brings anythin g to light except a
distorted face ; and , by losing your temper , you be-
come guilty of two sins , when you get into a passion ,
and accuse somebody of being the cause. So, my
dear , I repeat , keep your temper. "
Emma subdued her ill humor , searched for the ar-
ticles she had lost , and found them in her own work
bag.
"Wh y, mamma!" she exclaimed , "here they are ;
I mi»ht have been sewing all this time , if 1had kept
my tempe r."—[Penny Journal.
Hint to Mal e Flirts.— If you don 't want to
fall in love with a girl , don 't commence flirti ng with
her. This courting for fun is like boxing for fun.—
You put on the gloves in perfect good humor—with
the most friendl y intention * of exchang ing a few
amicable blows ; you find yourself insensibl y warm
with the enthusiasm of the conflict , until some un-
luck y punch in tjie "veskit" decide s the matter , and
the whole affair ends in a downri ght fight. Don 't
you sec the similarit y ?
Keep your Temper.
scenes in A school-House.
Under this head we find ,in the York Sp irit, some
humorous reminiscences , from which we extract the
following spicy scenes in a country school-house :—
" First class rjse !" thundered our old school mas-
ter.- Well , the first class did rise.
"Now , answer every question correctl y, or I'll
break every bone in your ugly little bodies," was the
next pronunciamento of the old autocrat of our red
school-house.
"John Brown , what do you understand by acous-
tics ?"
" Wh y, a stick to drive cows with , I suppose."
" Get out , you young vagabond ! Did I not see
you reading about the science of sound ?"
" Guess not ; that was about Sylvesta Sound the
Somnambulist. "
" It was, eh ? Sarah , you are John's younger sis-
ter ?"
"Yeth , thir."
" What is acoustics ?"
"I know , thir—it ith , it ith the art of making a
noith and hearing a noith."
" Yon are right. Explain it."
".
Yeth , thir. If you thtick your finger in your
mouth and then pull it out thuddenl y, the cold air
rusheth into the vacuum , and produtheth a thound
that thtrikes upon the tympan of the ear,which makth
the thound audible , and is denominated the thienth
of' acouthtixth. "
"You are right Sarah. John , can you now tell
me what is meant by the science of acoustics ? Be
carefu l, sir , or you'll feel my stick."
" Yes,sir. A cow sticks your finger in her mouth
—kicks over the tin pan , which sounds awful , and is
called the science of a cow 's kick."
" Well , John ,you do credit to your teacher. 'You
may take your books and run home."
"Will y Chase, what is the currency of the Uni-
ted States ?"
" Cash and money."
" Whfi t nre its denominations ?5'
" Coppers , bogus and Bungtown cents , pennies,
fi ps.pics, fourpence-hap'nie8,levys ,ninepenees , Span-
ish quarters , pistareens , and shin-p lasters."
" That will do."
"Jones, what is the standard weight of the Uni-
ted States ?"
" Scale weight and a little longer."
" Samuel , how many king doms are there in the
material world ?"
"Four."
" Three , onl y three."
" Four , I think , sir."
" Well , name them—what are they ?"
" Mineral king dom , animal king dom , vegetable
king dom , and king dom to come."
"Now , how many kinds of motion are there ?"
" Four.'1
"No , onl y two ; voluntary and involuntary. "
" Simeon says there's four."
" What does Simon say they are ?"
"Point , point up, point down and wig-wag."
"You rascal ! I've a mind to wig-wag your jack-
et ! Hadn 't you better describe the motion of my
stick ?"
" I can , sir.'5
" And its effect ?"
" Yes, sir. Up stroke and down stroke—the up
stroke regular and easy, the down stroke spasmodi-
cally electrif ying, and its effects striking ly indescrib-
abl e."
" You understand that , I see."
" George Smith , do you recollect the story of Da-
vid and Goliah ?"
"Yes, sir; David was a tavern-keeper , and Go-
liah was an intemperate man."
" Who told you that? "
" Nobod y ; I read it , and it said that David fixed
a sling for Goliah , and Goliah got slewed with it."
" Wasn 't David a musician ?"
" Yes, sir—he played psalms' on the harp,a fa vor-
ite instrument with the Jews ,and at the present day
it is called a je wsharp. I have one in my pocket ;—
here it is. Place it in your mouth thus—breathe ,on
the tongue gentl y, then strike it with your fingers
in this way, and the psalms ,in harmonious corn cob.
fructif y on the ear as natural as thunder. "
"Tha t's sufficient; you can pocket your harp."
"Jane , what is time ?''
" Something that flies , any ho w."
" How do you make that out ?"
" Wh y, tempus fugit.
" W hat 's that ?"
"Latin ; it means that time flies, and how can
time , if it flies ,be any thing else than something that
flies ?"
"Excellent. What is the meaning of requiescat
in pace ?"
" Rest, quiet cat , in peace."
" Wel l , Jane, at Latin you are perfectl y aufa.il,
which ,translated ,means perfectl y awfu l ; it is a great
phrase , from the classics, and app licable to this class
particularl y. Now take off your jackets , and I will
give you 'reward of merit.' Those who get more
than they merit can keep the overp lus as a token of
my special affection for them ; and those who get less
can have the mistake rectified by mentioning it to
me."
In Search of a Wipe.—Some two or three years
since a young merchant in the western part of New
York , having formed a hi gh opinion of the Lowell
operatives , from the contributions of some of them
in the Offering, came to the city in search of a wife.
As his purpose was known ,to the girls at the several
places which visited , or for some other reason ,he was
not successfu l in the object of his mission , and was
compelled to return home without a lad y-love. It
happened , however, not long since , that one of the
young girls remarked that "she wished she had
known the object of so fine a gentleman 's visit—that
she would have had him." Another immediatel y
made known this declaration to the gentleman—and
to come to the point at once—ho came on last week
—took the young lad y to Rhode Island or Connecti-
cut , and married her—never havin g seen her but
once before. They are very happy in each other 's
society and we hope will long enjoy the bliss of the
wedded hie.
The editor of the Offering frequentl y has app lica-
tion for wives for persons at a distance , but we be-
lieve she invariabl y writes them to come and make
their own selections.—[Lowell Courier.
[From the Worcester Palladium.]
C a p t a i n J o s i u l i S t u r g i s .
Boston, January 31, 1850.
To the Editor o
f the Palladium.
Dear Sir :—Herewith I send you n potrait of
Capt. Josiah Sturg is, commander of the U. S. Cutter
Hamilton. It is a perfect likeness; and should it
find a place in your sanctum in company with Gen.
Tay lor's, there will be no difficulty in deciding who
is who , as the artist has placed the Captain 's fac sim-
ile autograp h at the base of the picture.
Capt. Sturg is entered the merchant service when
quite a boy,and from that period to ihe present time ,
it can be said of him with much truth , that his home
has bean on the "deep, deep, sea." While thus em-
ployed ,he made nine voyages to Canton , and several
entirel y round the world. He also spent considera-
ble time on the North West Coast ; and as earl y as
1817 he published an account of a visit to the Co-
lumbia River , in Oregon , containing much valuable
and hi ghly interesting information. This account
found its way to Washington , where it did not fail
to attract the attention of the President , Mr. Mun-
roe, and his cabinet , as well it might ,as but little was
known at that time of the real extent of the natural
riches of that part of this continent now known as
the Oregon Territory, it followed shortl y after ,that
he made another visit to the Columbia River , incog.,
but under whose ausp ices, and for what special pur "
[iose , was best known , probabl y, to the executive
branch of government then existing. Capt. Sturgis
has long been attached to the revenue marine ser-
vice , as commander of an armed cutter ,and has won
golden opinions for the manner in which he has dis-
charged the duties appertaining to the important
office.
He has always been the sailor 's friend , and has
done much to ameliorate the condition of that useful
class of citizens ; and althoug h his income has never
been large, yet he has always kept a spare penny in
the locker for the relief of a poor sailor , or his wid-
ow and orphans. It will be remembered , that , not
long since, two Chinamen were picked up at sea and
broug ht to this port in a destitute condition. Capt.
S. soon sought them out , and learnt their history,
and also that they had families ,and desired to return ,
lie at once procured the necessary means and per-
sonal comforts for the long voyage , presented them
with his portrait , and sent them on their way rejoic-
ing, to see their wives and children , in the first shi p
bound to Canton , where these unfortunate men safe-
ly arrived , to the astonishment as well as joy of their
friends , who had reason to believe they hail been
lost forever. Information has been received that the
potrait of their American friend ,associated as it was
with their deliverance and return , produced a great
sensation ; and those who are more familiar with
Chinese character , and known of their aptit ude at
imitation , may well assure us that fac similes of the
Captain 's portrait will be multi plied almost ad infiiiii
turn , and scattered all over the emp ire , and that be-
fore long we shall have them imported into this
cou nti v.
I should stale that the Captain is not a party man ,
and yet he is a true friend to his country. He was
never married , a fact irreconcilable with the charac-
ter of a man , whose benevolence is unbounded by
seas or continents ; but it is a lone fault in a long
life otherwise usefu l ; and the ladies have always
been read y, almost , to forgive him , since he has as-
sured them that it was not because he loved them
less, or that he loved his profession more, but that he
has been strugg ling between the two attractions ,
"backing and filling " between inclination and duty,
and , thereby, has never been able to get into the
happy port.
By reason of the curtailments going on in the
Treasury Department , the Capt. has come ashore ;
but a very numerous circle of friends will beg b.id to
see him again on duty.
Your ob't serv 't, W.
[From the Boston Cultivator of April 10, 1847.]
Cure for the Consumption.
An officer in the British service , residing in the
East Indies had been stricken with this disease , and
was reduced by it to nearl y 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 accidental l y went into a shed where a man had
been bottling some wine , and at the moment of his
master's entrance had melted some rosin to seal corks
with. To the surprise of the afflicted one , his res-
piration became free and unobstructed , and it in-
stantl y occurred to him that the relief he experienc-
ed was produced by his having inhaled the resinous
smok e.
He remained better during the day, and , witho ut
consulting his doctor , repeated the experiment in
his sleeping room. , That ni ght he slept soundl y—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 af-
fair to his medical adviser , who was equall y surpris-
ed at the improvement of the patient 's health and
advised him to* continue his inhalation ni ght and
morning. In the space of thre e months his coug h
left him , and his appetite returned. In six months
his health was so improved that he contemp lated re-
turning to his native country ; he delayed doing so,
however , until a year had exp ir ed. Still persisting
in his new found remed y, his health was comp letel y
restored , and he was once more a sound man.
A new kind of paper currency has been set afloat ,
being nothin g less than bills on the " Bank of True
Love." They don 't pass very readil y—a New York
Mag istrate havin g pronounced them of little or no
value.
The Boston Post , or somebody else, considers a
good newspaper and a clean shirt as necessary to be
possessed by everv man in the community : mean-
ing, arobabl v , every decent man.
State X/iiBiatic Mosp ital
The Seventeenth Annual Report of the trustees
and superintendent of the State Lunatic Ilospital .at
Worcester , has been presented to the Legislature.
From this it appears that the hospital has been ex-
cessivel y crowded with patients during the year ;
440 patients having occup ied apartments desi gned
for the accommodation of onl y 375. The whole num-
ber of pati ents during the year has been 082; the
average number 420. The number of admissions
has been 573, and the number of discharges 254 , of
which 138 were cases of recovery. There have been
onl y 37 deaths in the hospital during the year , 4 o(
which were by cholera. No case of suicide has oc-
curred durin g the year , and.onl y lC'in 17 years.—
The great danger apprehended by the trustees is
from the over-crowding of the institution , especial-
ly by the introduction , under the authority of the
Courts or overseers of the Poor of troublesome im-
beciles whoso cure is hopeless , many of whom are
sent to this institution because they can be boarded
and taken care of more cheap ly than in private fam-
ilies. The tendency of this course of things is to in-
jure the reputation and destroy the efficiency of the
institution.
During the year twenty one strong rooms have
been begun for males, on the same general plan as
the strong rooms for females ,which were constructed
a year previous ; the trustees have also voted to take
gas from the Worcester Gas Co. for li ghting (he hos-
pital , the fixtures for which will cost about $2,100.
The whole expense of carry ing on the insliution for
he year has been $43,070 ,86 ; while the. income ,in-
cluding a balance on hand of $7,704 ,74, has been
$57,205,14 leaving a surp lus of 14,124 ,28 on hand ;
in view of which the trustees have decided to reduce
the board of patients to $2,25 per week for the cur-
rent year.
The number of patients from different counties in
the State is very unequal in propotion to popula-
tion , thus :—Worcester county sent during the last
year , 71; Norfolk 47 ; Essex 32 ; Suffolk 29 ; Mid-
dlesex 20. Of the 272 admitted during the year ,79
were forei gners ; and the whole number of forei gn-
ers in the hosp ital during the year has been 1G7 ;—
which is considerable more than one third of the
whole number of patients in the institution at any
one time. A change has been introduced in refer-
ence to promiscuous visiting of the hospital. The
number of persons seeking this privilege has become
so great , that it has been deemed necessary for the
comfort of the officers (it required a walk of more
than three miles to show the whole institution) and
the good of the patients (many of them being injuri-
ousl y excited by seeing so many strangers) to de-
cline admission to the wards unless to persons spec-
iall y interested in such institutions , or who have
some particular claims to attention.
SHr A letter has recentl y been received from Mr.
Ambrose Vincent , now in San Francisco , by his
wife in New Bedford , the princi pal items of interest
in which have been communicated by her to his
friends in this place. The letter was dated Nov.
29. He writes that he was well , in good sp irits , and
had ap lenty of business when the weather was suit-
able to work out of doors. But the rainy season had
commenced , and he was obli ged to lose considerable
time , as they do not have much in-doors work (i. e.
in his line , as a carpenter ,) done there. He had
814 a day, and it cost him $25 per week to live.—
He could live for less by lod ging in a tent and being
exposed to the wet and cold , but says, "I am deter-
mined to have a good roof over my head , and good
and sufficient food as I can get in this place , which
is none too good , I can assure you , and when my
business will not pay foi it , I shall leave the coun-
try." lie writes that ho had made $600 since he
arrived , clear of all expenses , whic h had been great.
He had been there less than 2 1-2 months. He had
let $500 of his earnings at 10 per cent per month ,
with good security, but says it is not often that he
meets with such a chance , alt houg h money general-
ly pays good interest. Ho thoug ht some of going to
the mines in the spring, but had not determined ;
should do what he could make the most money at,
and save his health which he considers of mo ie im-
portance than money. It cost onl y $10 per day in
the hosp ital , for the sick. Althoug h , it would seem ,
enjoy ing as good a flow of spirits us could reasonabl y
bo expected , yet such are the conditions of life there ,
that he regards his stay there as rather a forced one ,
and says , 'all that induces him to stay is to get
something to support his famil y.'—-[E dgartown Gaz.
fsSTA correspondent of the Boston Times , in a
letter dated at San Francisco , Dec. 20th , says :
"Some hundreds , perhaps thou sands , are now liv-
ing in tents pitched in Happy Valley, at the south
of the town , and about the outskirts , who cannot af-
ford to pay the rent of a room. Frequentl y their
tents are blown down , and they are never dry. The
occupants of these tents are, for the most pa it , per-
sons who have latel y arrived , usuall y with small
means , and they find to their dismay and astonish-
ment th.it they cannot get into the mines in winter;
so, making a virtue of necessity, they live as cheap-
ly as they can till spring. There is nuu-h povert y
and suffering among them , but the peop le here do
all they can to relieve the need y, and dispense ch.ir-
ity with a profuse han d . I have often said , and I
believe it to be true , that there is no population in
the world so good as that in California at the pres-
ent time—I mean that there is no spot on earth
where so large a proport ion of enterprisin g, honest ,
honorable , industr ious , generous and hi gh-minde d
persons compose the mass, as here ; and it is remar-
kably true , that hard l y a man who has been in the
country a year , would allow a nei ghbor to suffer
while he possessed a dollar. We have all seen and
felt hardshi ps enoug h to sympathise feelingly with
the distressed , and poveity is not the sin it is with
you , thoug h full y as inconvenient. '1
The sun is like God , sending abroad life , beauty
and happ iness ; and the stars like human souls, for
all their glory comes from the sun.'
The Union.
The London 1imes of Dec. 29 has an able and
temperate article relating to this country. It con-
cludes as follow* :—
"The maintenance of the integrity of the Unio«
is to the peop le of the United States very like what
the maintenance of the British constitution is to our-
selves.-. A hundred times over , in the jargon of par-
lies or the heat of battle , the Union has been dis-
solved , and the sun of the constitution has set for
ever. But thoug h this catastrop he is denounced as
the inevit able result of every grand contest , in the
one country as in the other—in the federal republic
and in the constitutional monarch y—such results
would be equall y unwelcome and alarming to every
party in the stale. The Americans use great license
in what we must call amicable hostilit y : they fight
with each other in all the ardor of the domestic pas-
sions ; but they have far too livel y a sense of the in-
calculable advantages they derive from their Union
to sacrifice that great political power to any accidents
of occasional warfare. Nothing is more remarkable ,
or more creditabl e to the American people, th an the
fact , in spite of their reckless and bold character ,
their wide and numerous divisions , and their unlim-
ited freedom , these states have remained at peace
with each other since the declaration of indepen-
dence. That is more than can be said of any
other confederation known to history . The Greek
states of anti quity waged continual war on each oth-
er ; the Italian s'ates of the middle ages v»ere inca-
pable of a league ; even in our own day we have
seen one-third of the Swiss cantons subdued by an
army of their confederates ; and the Cermanie con-
federation presents a melanchol y picture of an edi-
fice in ruins The United States alone have re-
tained the sacred deposit of their national peace in-
violate under the sanction of a common respect for
a supreme authority. That is their chief strength
and their chief glory. From the aggression or hos-
tility of European powers they have nothing to fear;
but if ever the evil time should come when the lo-
cal interests or passions prevail o\er the public law,
and a disruption of the Union should ensue , it is not
too much to predict that the whole face of the North
American continent would be changed , the habits
and necessities of war would predominate over those
of peace , the institutions which now suit the people,
would become, impossible or insufficient , and the
new world in time would exhibit brrt a melancholy
parod y of the follies and errors which have so l<3ng
afflicted the older habitations of mankind. "
dTGen. Cass closed his great Speech in the U.
S. Senate with the following language :
"The Wilmot Proviso is urged upon the ground
of its expe diency. It is opposed upon the ground
of its unconstitutionali ty . Those who urge it may
well abandon it when circumstances show that the
measure , is dangerous in itself or profitless in its re-
sults. Those who oppose it cannot change their con-
victions of ri ght , and that portion of the Union
which considers itself particu larl y a ffected by it will
not change the conviction that its feelings and inter-
ests will be sacrificed in violation of the great com-
pac t which make us one political famil y.
"Now , sir , 1 repeat , is the contest worth the cost ?
To place this barren , and as I believe , unconstitu-
tional Proviso on the Statute Book, is that a recom-
pense for the wounds that would be inflicted and
the feelings that would be excited , whose disastrous
effects no right-minded man can contemp late with-
out the most serious apprehension ? The oldest
among us may not live to see their commencement,
the youngest may not live to see their termination .
For myself , I will take part in no such effort. I
will minister to no such feeling. I will engage in
no crusade against the South , from whatever mo-
tives it ori ginates. I will endeavor to discharge my
duty as an American Senator , to the country and to
the whole country, agreeabl y to the convictions of
my own duty, and of the obli gations of the common-
wealth ; and when I cannot do this , I shall cease to
have any duty here to perform. My sentiments up-
on the Wilmot Proviso are now before the Senate,
and will soon be before my constituents and tlie
country. I am precluded from voting in conformity
with them. I have been instructed by the Legisla-
ture of Michi gan to vote in favor of this measure.—
I am a believer in the ri ght of instruction when
fairl y exercised and under proper circumstances.—
There are limita tions upon this exorcise , but I need
not seek their extent or app lication , for they do not
concern my present position. I acknowled ge the ob-
li gations of the instruction s I have received , and
cannot act in opposition to them. Nor can I act in
opposition to my own conviction s of the true mean-
ing of the Const itution . When the time comes and
1 am require d to vote upon this measure as a prac-
tical question , I shall know how to reconcile my du-
ty to the Legislature with my duty to myself, by sur-
rendering a trust I can no longer fulfill."
Ugg~A California adventurer writes , under date-of
San Francisco, Nov. 30th , to hi s friend in Troy ; .
B a d myself stayed at the mines about 70
da ys, and came away, havin g dug in that time 7 or
$800, and saved about $500 after pay ing our ex-
penses. We came down thinkin g we might make
money in .a more genteel manner , and one that wag
not so try ing to the back.
I fell in with an old acquaintanc e , and we hired a
store together at $550 per month- My partner had
a good lot of woods but no money. I had a little
money but no woods. The first day we opened I
fell sick , and he «ot drunk. I was sick a week and
he wns drunk every day- I got well > »n(i he sober.
As thin w s did not go to please me, 1 proposed n dis-
solution " which was accepted. He took the busi-
ness, and I took the dysentery, which confined me
four 'weeks. It came near killing me. When I got
out I found the funds very much diminished , for
nayin w heavy doctors ' bills and $28 a week board,
I took a situation as book keeper and Spanish in-
terpreter , at $200 per month. Kept that place a.
month , and then left it and hired an office with a
partner , where we have commenced a real estate,
merchandise and shi pping brokerage business. How
it will pay can 't say, as we have just begun ; and
that is the fortune 7 have made in California so
far. B.
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