Newspaper of Burlington Free Press, February 24, 1843, Page 1

NOT THE GLORY OF C 43 S A II DOT TUB WELFARE OF HOME. VOL. XVI. BURLINGTON, VERMONT, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1843. No. 39 Fiom the Democratic Rcricw for October. AN INCIDENT IN A IIAILMOAU CAIt. BY 8. B. LOWELL. Hi tpolie of Burns t men rudo and rouh Pressed round to hear the praise of one, Whose breast was made of manly simple stuff. As homespun as their own. And, when he read, they forward leaned, And heard, with eager hearts and crs, His bird-like sontrs whom glory never weaned From humble smiles and tears. Slowly there crew a tender nwc, Sun-like o'er faces brown and hard, As if in him who read thev felt and saw Some presence of tho bard. It was a sight for sin and wrong, And slavish tyranny to see, Asizht to make our faith more pure and strong In high Humanity, I thought, these men will carry henco Promptings their former hfo above, And something of a finer reyrrenco For beauty, truth, and love. God scatters love on every side, Freely among his children all, And always hearts are lying open wide Wherein some grains may fall. There is no wind but sows some seeds Of a more true and open life, Which burst unlooked for into high-souled deeds With wayside beauty rife. We find within these souls of ours Some wild germs of a hicher birth, Which in the poet's tropic heart bear flowerj Whose fragrance fills the earth. With the hearts of all men lio These promises of wider bliss. Which blossom into hopes that cannot die, In sunny hours like this. All that hath been majestical In life or death since time began, Is native in the simple heart of all, The angel heart of Man. And thus among the untaught poor, Great deeds and feelings find a home, Which casts in shadow all tho golden lore Of Classic Greece or Runic. Oh! mighty brother-soul of Man, Where'er thou art, in low or high, Thy skyey arches willi exulting span O'cr-roof infinity! All thoughts that mould tho age begin Deep down within the primitive soul, And, from the Many, slowly upward win To One who grasps tho whole. In his broad breast, the feeling deep Which struggled on the Many's tongue, Swells to a tide of Thought whose surges leap O'er the weak throne of Wrong. Never did poesy appear So full of Heav'n to me as when I saw how it would pierce through pride and fear, To lives of coarsest men. It may he glorious to write Thoughts that shall glad the two or thrco High souls hko those far stars that come in sight Once in a century. But better far it is to speak One simple word, which now and then, Shall wnVen their tree nature to the weak, And friendless sons of men j To write some earnest verse or lino Which, seeking not the praise of Art. Shall make a clearer faith and manhood shino In the unlearned heart. Baton, April, IS 12. "GO AHEAD." Dy the bcncficicnt constitution of Divine Providence, the earth, while it contributes to the support of man and beast, is design ed to becomo more productive, or to keep up its richness, from its own activity. It is like the fountain of true charity, and beauti fully emblematical of the Divino benefi cence ; the moro it expends, tho moro its abundances increases. It is like, the hu man mind ; tho more active it is rendered, the more its powers arc invigorated ; tho more it docs, tho more it can do; and the moro its treasures aro poured forth, the more its fullness is enlarged. The great object of the art of agriculture is thereforo yet to be achieved. What has been done onee, can be done again. There is no monopoly of power in this case. Nature is uniform in her laws and operations. It is an old saying that "fortune favors tho bravo ;" that is, men find their power in crease with their activity ; according to the Latin proverb, thoy aro able because they believe themselves able." In many respects they command fortune. Taking advantage of tho simplest of nature's laws, and using tier lorces as she designed they should bo used, she is never wanting on her part, but seconds every effort for improvement ; and the more readily and cheerfully ns those ef forts are the more spirited, energetic and determined. If any man has raised one hundred bushels of corn, or sixty bushels of wheat to an acre, who will pretend that it cannot be done again? No farmer, who deserves to be called a farmer in the high est sense, and to take rank among the no blest of this nature's nnhililv tlm lnrrl nf the soil ought to remain content until ho hat done it. When be has accomplished this, then he should not be satisfied until ho has done even much more than this. There is undoubtedly a limit beyond which we can not advance. All human attainments aro necessarily finite. Out who knows where this limit is? Who ever went so far as to be certain that he could go no farther? Tiie difference between that which cultivation has produced already in some hands, and that which is ordinarily produced, is very great, and sufficient to occupy the enterprise fcnd ambition of most farmers for a long time to come. But let them mako tho attempt to do all thoy can do, or rather all that can bo done. They may not succeed at once. Few men succeed at onco in any great en terprise. But let them try again, and again, and again. If, after doing their best they fall short of the goal of their hopes and ex pectations, yet llicro is a great satisfaction to a generous mind in tho mere pursuit of a good and useful object. An immense bene fit conies to tho community from an example of intelligent and persevering exettiou. Let there bo a generous ambition and a constant stimulus to cnterpriso in all tho departments of human industry and activity. When tho heart beats, tho impulso is full throughout tho frame ; and you cannot quicken thn stream of lifo in any one part, without ac celerating the circulations through tho whole body. Go on, then, trying always to do better and better. White every other art is advancing in tho career of improvement, almost with the speed of a locomotive en gine, the fanners should whip up their team, and not bo distanced in the competition. There is a beautiful circumstance connected with agi cultural emulation. In many of the pursuits of life, one man gets rich by mak ing another man poor. Ho climbs the lad der by putting his foot on another man's shoulder; or, ho builds his own dwelling out of tho fragments of his neighbor's, which ho has undermined. This is often a crying injustice, and inflicts many bitter mortifications, or arouses vindictive and ti ger passions. Emulation in agricultural im provement enkindles no such baleful fires. A man can mako no improvements in hus bandry, without at on co extending the knowledgo and advantages of them to oth ers. Tho enlargement of the capacities of the soil, and every increase of its produc tions, confers an immediate benefit upon the whole community." Coleman, APPEARANCE. I would have tho windows of the farm house adorned with flowers, not in rusty-tin measures, and old black glazed tea-pots, and glass bottles with tho necks broken off, but in whulu and handsome flower-pots, or neat ly painted wooden boxes, for thoy really cost nothing. I would have the piazzas or por ches trulliscd with vines, even with scarlet runners, if nothing better can be had. would have the door-yard filled with flowers and shrubbery, and tho road-side lined with trees hero a clump and there a singlo line, mingling the varieties as nature mingles them cultivating them for fruit, and cultivating them for mere ornament and beauty. But this is all, you will tell me, for appearance sake. Well, is appearance nothing? Did you think nothing of appearance when you choso your wives ? and nothing of your own appearance when you wished them to con firm tho election? But whv should thn pleasures of sight be so lightly esteemed? Why should they be spoken of in tho lan guage of disdain or indifference? Aro they not as rational, as respectable, as valuable, as abundant, as innocent, as the pleasures of the oilier senses? Aie thoy not, indeed the very elements of some of tho most re fined pleasures of the mind and heart ? lias God given us tho sense of sight, so won derful, so capacious, so infinitely varied in its resources and objects, for no purpose? Is appcaranco nothing? What is moro studied throughout tho Creator's works ? What object is there in nature, from tho highest to the lowest, animate or inanimate, swimming in the sea or in tho air, on tho surface, or buried in the earth, which is not, upon examination, found to bo as beautiful as if it were finished for no other purposo than to be looked at? THE EFFECTS OF MOUNTAINS. Geology, in its goings back and its road ings of tho earth's history, finds a timo when, "before tho circulation of tho waters com menced, no alluvial lands, and scarcely even soil, could have existed ; because these havo been produced by tho operation of the water, It was therefore an earth of naked rocks and sea." Science finds a time too, when the earth was a fluid mass, surrounded by nn at mosphere, taking the globular form under tho influence of rotation, and forming into rock or sand on its surface as it cooled down. Such a globe -fluid would, when revolving on its axis, acquiro nearly n level surface ; its waters would not circulate freely ; thoy would be stagnant ; and the soil could nour- i isli but few of the plants on which men and animals feed. But our earth was to bo made the fit homo for men and the many animals. How was this accomplished ? The pent-up fires in earth's ccntro were in God's hand. The volcanoo was his agont. By that the mountains were piled up then tho waters flowed away 'the dry land appeared' the mountains helped to condense into clouds around their own heads the floating vapors and causo the rains to fall most abundantly on their high tops, where they should becomo the fathers of brooks and rivulets, and springs and mighty rivers. The mountains which draw down the rains and foed the rivers, aro among the mighty agents that fertilizo tho earth. Quickly dried by thn elovation which causes their waters to flow away, and fre quently moistened by rains, their surfaces give a homo to many of tho valuable plants and trees, while tho waters that flow down their sides, carry from tho mountains tho matter which composes tho many fertile inlorvals. Upheavo a mountain in the great desert of Sahara, and a few ages will find tho region far around, as fertile as tho sides and foot of Atlas, or as tho plains that skirt our western mountains. Ed. N. E. F. He that sympathises in all the happiness of others, perhaps himself enjoys tho safest happiness, and ho that profits by all the folly of others, has perhaps attained thosotindost wisdom. Lacon, TIIE ENCHANTED GUN. A TENNESSEE STOItY. BY c. r. HorPMAN. Tho evening closed in dull and thick, with that stagnant heaviness of the atmosphere which often precedes a storm. There was a moon, but its faco was veiled bv tho leaden clouds; and its light, dissipated through tho murky air, created that kind of "darkness visible " which gives a drearier aspect to the landscape than when it is wholly obscured. 1 lie only cabin m sight lay in the midst of a desolate " clearing, which, though com pletely walled round by the forest of firs from whose depths I had just issued, boro not a trace of shrubbery to relievo tho waste of blackened stumps. A well of primitive con struction, with the bucket dangling at tho end of a grape vino attached to a long lever polo, crowned a naked knoll where the stumps had been cleared away. Tho pole, from which tho bark had never been stripped, was near ly covered with that palo green moss which will often collect upon tho dry rails of a fence which have not for years been disturbed ; and this, witlitho night wind whistlingthrotigh the parted staves of tho decrepid bucket, proved sufficiently that tho well, if not dried up entirely, was still no longer used. A low shed, built of logs and roofed with bark, was the only other outward appurtenance of the cabin. Tho wholo picture, it will be ncknowl edged, was a dreary one. Comfortless, mo notonous almost heart-depressing ! A scene of wildness without beauty ; of solitude with out dignity : n woodland home without one attribute of rural cheerfulness. An abodo in tho wilderness utterly destitute of forest shelter and security. Tho spirits of evil, which in somo lands aro believed to take up their abodo in every deserted palace or ruinous castle, mcthought would straightway migrate Inthcrward did they dream of a spot so utterly lonely and, :is it seemed, so man-forsaken ! I say " seemed," for though tho traces of what are called improvements were about me, I could scarcely realize that tho hands which had once wrought llicro might still be busy near. The man who had made such an opening in the forest must, I thought, havo been fright encd at his own work the moment he ceased from his toil, and become aware how uncouth ly he had given shapo and form to tho spirit of solitude which still sighed among tho tall trees around mm. 1 dismounted near the cabin, and scarcely tocuhed the door with the butt of my riding whip when it was tlung open trom within by somo ono who instantly retired from the threshold. 1 lie abruptness of the act did, 1 confess, startle me. Though not casilvalarm cd, my mood of mind at tho moment was such as to prompt somo mystic association with the scenes and circumstances already detailed. I am a perfect barometer of the weather, and the approach of a thunder gust always weighs down my spirits with undehn ablo oppression, in tho same degree that a driving snow storm exhilarates them. 1 he low muttcrings of tho oncoming tempest. which were now beginning to bo audible, would, then, bo sulhcicnt to account tor my present sensibility to gloomy influences ; but I might also mention other things which, per haps, added to the present anxiety of feel ing, if tho phraso bo not too strong a one. It will suffice, however, to state' merely that I had not heard tho sound of human speech in the last two days, and that that which now met my cars was harsh and discordant. It was tho croaking tono which you may some times catch from a sour tempered virago as slio strolls trom tho conventicle. " I thought you'd a been hero afore," said this ungracious voice ; which, upon entering the apartment, I recognized as belonging to its only occupant. Sho was a heavy-built woman, of coarso square features and saturino complexion. She wore her straight black hair plainly part ed over her eyebrows, which were bushy and meeting in the middle. Uno elvish loci; had escapea irom ueiiinu ncr ears as sue sioupeu over tho hearth, holding n tallow candle to the ashes which she was trying to blow into a flame, when my summons interrupted tho , f , 1 1 I 1 process. " You thought I would havo been hero be fore ? " I exclaimed at hist, in reply to her singular salutation , " why, my good woman, I havo lost my way, and only stumbled upon your house by accident you must take me for somebody else." " I'm no good woman. Don't good wo man me," sho replied, with a scrutinizing glanco which had something, I thought, of al most fierceness in it, as shading the now light ed candle with ono hand, she turned scorn fully round and fixed her regards on me. "Yes! yes, strannger, you are the man, the very man that was to come at this hour. I dreamed ye 1 dreamed ycr boss yer brown leggins and all, I dreamed 'in and now go look after yer critter whiles I get some supper for ye." Thoso who are so good as to follow mo in my story will perhaps bo vexed and impa tient when I tell them hero that tho wholo of this singular sccno has no immediate bearing upon its denouement. ' Why, then," it may bo asked, " do you delay and embarrass the relation with the de tail of matters that havo no connection with tho incident for which you would claim our interest ? " 1 did not say thoy had no connection with it ! They have an intimate a close con nection. It was theso very circumstances which still further fashioned tho mood of mind under which I became an observer and par tially nn actor in tho startling though grot esquo ovonts whiclrfollowcd, and 1 wish to place the reader in exactly tho same position that 1 was in. I wish to win him, if possi ble, to perfect sympathy of feeling with mo for the hour, and let him oxorciso his judg ment, if he caro to, from precisely the same point of mental observation, We have returned, then, to the cabin, ho (tho reader) or I aro again alono in tho midst of tho wilderness ; in that dreary room ; alone with that weird-looking woman. The storm is now howling without, but it does not chafe savagely enough lo excite the dispirit cd temper of our feelings, or offer a contrast ol any dignity to tho gloomy influences with- Snpper was already prepared for mo when I returned from looking after my horse. The coarse bacon and hoc cakes wcro pla ced before mo without another word being spoken between my hostess and myself. I drew a rudo stool to the table, and was in the act of helping myself from the wooden plat ter " Stop! I hear them coming! " cried the woman. 'Hear them 1 who?' said I, turning round sharply as some new, though undcfinablc sus picion flashed upon me. 1 hem as will have to share that supper with ye, strannger if how's bc't they let ye cat any of it.' I had no timo to weigh further the mean ing of her words, for at this instant there was a sharp flash of lightning, tho door was dash ed suddenly open and thrco armed men strode into tho apartment, tho storm polling in behind them us thoy entered, and a terific thunder-burst followed instantly tho light nmg amid whoso glare they crossed the threshold. The palor of their countenances, set ofi by their long black dripping locks, seemed measurably to pass away when that livid light was withdrawn ; but trom the mo mcnt that the door was flung open there was an earthly smell in the room, which, wheth er coming from the recking soil without or from the garments of theso wild foresters, was most perceptible. Those less familiar than myself with the raw-savored odors which sometimes travel out with tho rich per fume of the woods, would, I am persuaded, havo identified it with the grave-damps which our senses will sometimes take cognizance of in old church-yards. Tho aspect of two of theso men was suf ficiently formidable, though in point of stat tiro and an appearance of burly strength they wcro inferior to their companion. They were square shouldered, black-bearded fel lows, armed both with hatchet and bowin knito, in addition to tho short rifles which they still retained laid across their knees as they settled themselves siUo by side upon a bench and looked coldly around them, t he third was a full cheeked, heavy-featured man, of about eight and twenty, bearing strong resemblance to my hostess, both in complexion and countenance, save that his eyebrows, instead of being snuaro and coal black hko hers, were irregularly arched and of a laded brown. His mouth also lacked the firmness of expression which dwelt around her thin and shrewish lips. This man boro with him no weapon save a huge old German piece, a Tyrolean rifle as it seemed to mo, from the enormous length of tho barrel and tho great size of the boro, as well as the outlandish and cumber some ornaments about tho stock and breech ing. It was.evidently, a weapon intended for tho great distances at which tho chamois hunter claims his quarry, and though service able lor a long shot on our western prairies was ill suited to the thick woods of tho A pa lachian mountains. Inconvenient, howcvcjpw ... I .1. 1 . us iiiu luugui ami sizo oi .inu piece inigui mako it in some hands, it seemed to bo no thing in the grip of the sturdy mountaineer, (who had probably bought it from some pas sing emigrant trom the old world,) lor I ob served even as ho entered that ho held the gun vertically at arm's length before him Still he seemed glad of relieving himself of the weight as soon as possible, for he instant ly advanced to tho farthest corner of the room whero ho placed the piece with somn euro in an upright position against tho wall Well ! what for now ?" said the virago, ' why do you stand looking at tho gun after you've sot it down ? you think she'll walk off herself, do yo I ' Tho youth looked gloomily at her took a stool on tho opposite side of the hearth to his companions leaned his head doggedly upon his hand, but said nothing. I thought I had never fallen in with a moro strange set of people. ' What ! Hank Stumpers, haint yo a word to lung to a dog' cried the woman, advanc ing toward him ; 1 Is that the way you treat yer dead lather's wife V The young man looked up stupidly at her, gavo a glanco with something more of intel ligence at the gun, but still said nothing. 1 les yer natcrul-horn mother ye chuckle-headed, ye and sho a widder. Can't ye speak up to her where's tho deer ? the turkeys? the squirrels? haint ye got even a squirrel lo show for your day's work I speak you, John Dawson, what's tho mat tcr with the boy ? He be n't drunk, be ho ?' It 's a matter of five hours, Mother Stum pers, since cither of us touched a drop,' re plied ono of tho men briefly, and ho, too, gavo a furtive glance at tho old lirelock. Well well, why don't yo go on ? is any ono dead? aro vo all distraught? Jackson Phillips, you you'vo felt tho back of my hand ucross yer chaps, aforo now, for yer impcrance I know yo, man, and that sober possum-look means something ! Do yo think to cum it over me aforo this strannger speak up, and that at oust, or it 'II bo tho worst lor somo ol vo, or my namo s not Be linda Washington Stumpers! (I did not smile, reader, as you do, at Mrs. S.'s sponsorial dignity I did not dare to smile.) You know wo wouiu n i ouena you, no how, Mother Stumpers,' depreciatingly re plied tho man whom sho addressed as Phil lips. Hank's misfortune, you see, has mado us dull-like, as it wore, and And what in tho namo of Satan is Ins misfortun ?' inlorruptcd tho mother, now for the first timo moved with concern as well as anger. . . That's it that's it, mammy,' cried Hank, with something of alertness she's druv tho very nail on tho head Satan is at tho bottom of all ot it. 1 At the bottom of all of what ?' screamed tho virago, and, even as sh'o spoke, the an cient piece in the cornor, untouched by any one without tho slightest movement of tho lock discharged itself toward tho ceiling 1 At tho bottom of tho bar'l of my gun he speaks for himself,' replied Hank, mood ily, while ins mother sioriBu nam uuu t sprung to my foot at tho sudden report so near me. 1 Your gun must bo foul,' I said, resuming my scat, ' very foul, to hang firo so long. 1 suppose she mado a flash in the pan when at tempting to discharge her just beforo enter ing.' Stumpers looked vacantly nt me, shook his head, muttered something about he and his mother uoing ' ruinated,' and then more audibly said, Strannger, you may havo more book larnin than me, but I tell ye, oust for all, that Satan's got into that gun ! ' And bang ! at that moment again went the gun, as if to prove that his words were sooth. ' This is, certainly, most extraordinary.' I exclaimed, as I roso to examine the gun for myscit. 4 You'd better not touch her, strannger,' cried Phillips. 1 tell you she s got Jsatan in her,' re plied Hank. 1 looked at Dawson, enquiringly. 1 Fact ! strannger, every word of it Hank's not been able to get that gun olf since noon ; out about a hundred rod aloro wo struck the clearing she begun firing of her own accord, just as you sec Bans; ! Bans! went the gun. ' I told you that Satan was in her.' said Phillips, in a tono of solemn sadness some times she'll not speak for a matter often min tites or so ; sometimes she gives two little short barks like those ; and sometimes she gives a regular rip-snorter (Bang ! thundered the gun.) like that ! ' 1 1 told you sho'd got Satan in her I ' slill repeated Hank. I confess that it was now only the calm ness of those around mo which preventad somo feeling of superstitious terror being dis agreeably awakened in me. The men, how ever, seemed sad and awe-struck, rather than alarmed ; while the woman a thing not uncommon with resolute minds disposed to believe readily in tho supernatural seem ed at once to accept the fearful solution of tho mystery which had been prollercd to her, and ready to meet it with nn unflinching spir it. Still, puzzled and bewildered as 1 was, I could not but smile at the manner in wind her emotions now manifested themselves. ' Well !' she cried, impatiently, what i poor skimp ot a man you must be to let Sa tan get into tho piece when you had her all day In ycr own keeping.' ' In skimp of a man ? ' answered her son with spirit ; 1 thero is n't another fellow in these diggins who''d 'u brought that gun home as l aiu, alter no uisKivereil that sicti goings on were inside of her. And if sho'd tell her own story ' Bang ! bang ! bang ! pealed the gun, ' That's Satan who speaks now ' Bang phizz bang ! It's Satan, 1 say, and no mistake. But if she'd tell her own story she'd own I never let her go out of my hands this blessed duv save when Jackson Phillips tuk Dawson's picco andiiMfo to watch for deer on tho rim away wlrb went down tho branch to sco if wo could n't get a big sucker or two for supper out of tho deep hole where I cotched so many fish last Full. No ! if sho'd speak for herself ' BANG ! thundered tho gun, with a report so tremendous that 1 involuntarily put my hand to my cars. uuu mo mo tongs gim me them ero tongs,' shouted Mrs. Stumpers in great wrath; while Dawson turned pale, and even Phillips seemed a little disturbed as ho muttered, ' if tho old thing should bust it might bo a bad business for us.' Hank, however, doggedly handed his mother iho tongs; and beloro I could inter pose, or, indeed, before I was aware what the courageous woman was about lo do, she had grasped iho gun with the tongs, near the lock, and bearing it beforo her with a strong arm sue moved toward tho door. Why don't yo open ' Bang .' phizz! bang! bang! phizz! phizz ! bang ! alternately pealed and sputtered the gun ; but still the intrepid vi rago went on. I sprung to tho door and flung it wide beforo her. The light from within was reflected upon the hollow butlonwood trunk which formed the curb of tho well opposito, and in another instant the gun was plunged to tho bottom. ' Thar ! ' said Mrs. Stumper, clapping the tongs in true housewife fashion as sho repla ced them in the chimney corner. Now one can hear hissclf talk without tho bother of sich a clatter.' Bang! moaned the gun at the bottom of tho well. ' Can't stop Satan that way, mammy,' said Hank, his stupid faco sicklying over with an unhappy smile. Tho mystery had now deepened to the highest point of interest that last discharge was wholly unaccountable and for my own part, my curiosity was wound up to a pitch that was postively painful. I remembered, though, the shattered bucket, and bethought myself of asking if thero were any water in the well. 'About enough to como up to a lizard's oat,' answered Hank ; ' but llieru's a smart chance of mud under it, I tell yo, strannger. That old gun will keep sinking for a week yet.' 1 She's stopped,' said Dawson. Yes,' answered Phillips, ' and we'd bet ter fish her out before sho sinks beyond our reach.' Do n't I tell yo Satan's in the gun,' cried Hank almost "furiously 'down down she'll keep going down now till he has her in his own placo all to himself. 1 lost an axe myself in that well onst, and if half that fath er used to tell about it be truo ' Spluch"Vch"Ueh. Bubble ublebang! bit bang! Spinhie bang bang BANG!!! We listened vre looked long at each oth er. With tho last report, which was almost overpowering, I wai convinced that the ex plosion must have been aided by inflammable gas at the bottom of the well, for the blue flame, as it rose from it. flashed through the only window of tho cabin, and showed tho - .! .t. fi..l features of its ignorant inmates, for tho first time, distorted with real terror. At least Phillips and Dawson, upon whom my eye was fixed al the time, looked perfectly aghast with fright. Hank s supposition of the ultimate destiny of his famous gun (viz. going to tho sporting dominions of tho Great Hunter below) could hardly bo true, however, inasmuch as a piece of tho blackened muzzle was found next morning, driven half through a fragment of iho well curb which lay shattered around, broken to splinters by the explosion of the fire damp. The poor young man fairly wept outright when it was shown him by Phillips ; who, with a generosity 1 could not sufficient ly admiro at tho time, insisted upon replacing the hoary weapon of Hank's affections with disown light eastern rifle; saying nt the samn timo that ho had a Kentucky tool at home which ha much preferred to the Pennsylva nia ytcger. This same Phillips, by the way, very civ illy offered after breakfast to put me on my road, which, from the number of the Indian trails along the border of the Clierokco coun try, I had wholly lost. ' I say, strannger,' said ho, the moment wo had got out of earshot of tho house, ' you wcro devilish cool when that well blew up ! tell mo the trick of it wily, and I'll tell you tho trick of the pun, which rayther skeared you a lew, as I think.' I explained the fire damp to him. Ilanlly, now,' ho exclaimed, ' wells is al most unknuwn in this country, for we either settle down by a spring, or get our water 1 in in the branch, lint the lust well 1 lull in uitn i it uraw up a uottio ol that gas as you cull it, and have some raal fun with tho fel lers. But look here,' said he, stopping and tearing off some dry fungus from nn old stump, wnen you want to piny a trick as made music for us last night, you've only to put twenty charges in a gun, with sich wad as this atween each of cm an ascotch now and then instead of dry powder will bo all the better ; rain each down well ; let the chap carry his gun about for an hour or so, unbe knowing jist as that simple Hank did and choose your own time for dropping a piece of lighted touchwood into the muzzle.' Upon my word, I was not sorry that I was topartconipany.beforenight.with thispracti cal joker; who, for aught I knew, might seize some tempting opportunity to slip a sna or so into my boots, stuff my saddle will squius, or play oil somoliltlo piece of face tious liko that with which the jocular Cap tain Goffe, in Scott's novel of tho Pirate, used now and then to indulge his humor ; tho said captain having a funey way of dis charging his pistol under the mess-table, merely to pepper some one's shins willi a half-ounce ball. No man can over borrow himself out of debt. If you wish for relief, you must work for it. You must make more and spend less III an you did whiloyou wcro running in debt. You must wear hnmc-spun instead of broad cloth, drink water instead of champaign, and i rise at iour insteau ot seven. Industry, lru- galily, economy these are the handmaids of wealth, and tho sure sources of relief. A dol lar earned is worth ton borrowed, and a dol- ar saved is belter than forty times its amojjflHtfs of decay is going on, thn volatile and in worthless gewgaws, t ry this is much better than to depend upon bank fa vors, aim a thousand times moro honorable than u resort lo the bankrubt law. Cromwell the Mutineer. The New. Orleans Tropic of the :20th, publishes the fol lowing statement as to the character of Crom well " furnished by a gentleman in Now.Or leans." " He was the first mate of the now ship General I'arkhill, Capt. J. D. Wilson, upon which a mutiny occurred in February, l;i)9, when at anchor in the harbor of St. Marks, Florida, Capt. Wilson and his passengers had gone ashore in two boats, when the second mate and seven men rose, severely wounded the mate, confined him, robbed the ship, and made their escape in tho best boat belonging to the vessel. Two of them were caught, tried and imprisoned, the rest were never found. Lai-t summer this gentleman was in New-York, just before tho Somors suled, and when passing her in boat, saw a man leaning over the side uf the vessel whom he recognised to bo one of the mutineers, who passed hy tho name of Camp, bell, but whose real name was Cromwell. He tried to get on board to state this to the Cap. tain, but was prevented by tho officer on deck supposed to hive been Midshipman Spencer. A letter has been written to tho Court of Innui ry detailing these particulars, which wo think will throw considerable light upon tho affair. TO .MAKE HENS LAY I'EHPETUALLY. I never allow cocks to run with my hens, ex cept when 1 want to raise chickens. Hens will lay eggs perpetually if treated in tho following manner. Keep no roosters : give the hens fresh meal, chopped fine liko sausage-meat, once a day, a very small portion, say half an ounce a day lo each hen, during winter, from tho timo insects disappear m the fall, till thev appear again in tho spring. Never allow any eggs to remain in the nest, tor what in called nest eggs. hen tho roosters do not run with the hens, and no nest eggs aro left in the nest, the hens will not cease laying after tho produc. lion of twelve or fifteen eggs, as they always do when roosters and nest eggs aro allowed : but continue laying perpetually. My hens al ways lay all winter, and each Irom seventy. five to one hundred eggs in succession. There being nothing to excite the animal passions, they never attempt to set. If tho above plan were generally loiiowou.egcs wouiu be just as plenty in winter as in summer. The only reason why hens do not lay in winter as freely as in summer, is tho want of animal food, which they get in summer in abundance in the form of insects. Tho reason they stop laying and goto sotting, after laying a brood of eggs, is the continual excitement of the animal pas. sions by the males. I have for several winters reduced my theory to practice, and proved its entire correctness, it must be observed that tho presence of the male is not necessary for the production of eggs, as they are formed whether the male be present or not. Of course such eggs will not produce chickens. When chickens aro wanted, the rooster must of course run with the hens. Cultivator. Comm. A Suicide. The Hon. Charles W. Ewing, formerly a member of Congress, in a temporary fit of insanity, shot himself at Fort XVnyiw, In- iana, on tho Oth instant. AMMONIA. Moro commonly konwn as hartshorno, in an alkali being of a burning caustic taste, and as every onu must know, who has treated thn nasal organ to its aroma, is of a powciful, pungent odor. It is very volatile in its char acter, for unless closet) confined fiom the in fluence of the atmosphere, its peculiar quali ties pass offand enter into new compositions, in the material system. Its chemical composition is one part of nitrogen, tho principle ingredient of tho at mosphere, to three of hydrogen a gas which of itself is inflammable, but which when unit ed with oxygen, forms water ; or if taken in atomic proportions, 1 parts of nitrogen, and 3 of hydrogen, from 17 of pure ammonia. I See Uana's Muck Manuel p. 130. i uus mucii tor what ammonia is ; nextly, Where is it found ? It exists in the atmosphere in the cloud that floats through it in ihe snow and rain that fill upon tho earth ; indeed its existence may be traced to nil organized substances. It is lound most abundantly, howctor, whero the process of decay is going on most rapidly, and in such cases unless piecnutiouary meas ures are adopted lo prevent its escape, it pas ses into tho atmosphere, and though that be comes an annoyer as well as a benefit, for then, while it feeds tho farmer's wheat, it al so yields nourishment to his tares. If his grass flourish under its iiifluocp, tho thistles by the way-sido and in tho 'old field,' shoot up more luxuriantly from tlio aid it bestows. In the moro valuable manures it is found most abundant, and Dr. Dana supposes tho yearly produce from tho manure of ono cow, to be 18S pounds of pure ammonia, or 550 lbs, of the carbonate of ammonia of tho shops. Other animal manures possess it in differ ent quantities, and it is upon this mainly, that their effect in producing fertility is sup posed to depend. Hence tho property of the farmers' adopt ing such a course with these manures as ill go most likely to convert them to practical benefit, hi order to effect ibis, the process of evaporation must be stopped until they are placed where the gasses will not pass into the atmosphere, or substances must be incorpo rated with them which will unite in taking up ammonia. Hence tho benefit of composts, for all the turft, weeds, muck, and other de composable absorbants, which are thrown in to, and incorporated with, the manure heap, to go to aid in taking tip tho salts and gases, which would otherwise pass into the atmos phere, and becomo rich manures of themselv es. Any ono can sco the propriety of this. Take for instance, any dead animal and ex pose it on tho surface of the earth, a loathsom effluvia will pass off, as decay advances. Bury the animal, and the stench ceases to annoy you, but putiification does not stop. It merely passes into surrounding substances, instead of the atmosphere. Now when tho animal has all or nearly all decayed, take the earth that surrounded it and apply it to your lands, and you will find the effect" to fertilizo arise from it. Or, if'vou please, let it re main, and a luxuriant growth of weeds will for years mark tho place, unless buried so deep that its effects aro not felt on the sur face. It is just so with all manures: while tho scllcme-W,ur","l P'1" are passing away in unheal thy stenches, poisoning the air, and wasting the substance of tho farmer. It is Wis wealth, ono that might soon be realized in ihe beauty ui lu.wiaiu crops, onu later in dollars and cents, (these words of peculiar charms,) pass ing ofl'on the wings of tho wind. Even in winter, when the frost and cold are exerting their anti-putrcscent qualities, it may hardly bo said to stop ; and unless precautionary measures are taken, spring will be sure to waste the accumulations win ter brings. To remedy this evaporation, many of tho enterprising farmers where ma nures aro fully appreciated, havo made eel lais under their barns and stables, into which tho manure is daily thrown to protect it from the drenching of storms and tho effects of the atmosphere. The saving by this plan has been found to yield a rich profit for the outfit, but still tho gasi-s will to some extent, pass off, and a rem edy for this has developed itself in tho ad mixture nf the sulphate uf lime, gypsum, or plaster of Paris, with manure in winter. It should bo thrown in frequently, and its effects in summer when applied aro to correct all of It'iiiivo smells, and retain the gases in their proper places. Berkshire Far. BRINE YOUR HAY. It may bo well to remind some of your rea. dors of the advantage of salting their poor fod der, at intervals through the winter, both for cattle and sheep. hay hy all your hay, stalks, straw, &ic, that aro coarso or damaged, then once or twice a week, in warm days, or moderato weather, hriuo this refuse hay and other feed : to one pail of water add ono pint of salt ; sprinkle this brine on one large fn.-k-full nf dry food, and you will find that all or most of it will be con. sumed, though some locks may not be impreg- uaieu wiwi sail. Several important advantages may be gained by this treatment. First, you will dispose of all your poor fod. der ; second, tho stock will eat it with avidity and look full in warm days, when tolerably g3d feed may lay before them rejected, or eat. en with reluctance ; third, it answers every purposo of otherwise salting the stock, as they should bo ; fourth, you will not lose one-half the number of animals, especially sheep, as you would to manage any other way. A daughter of Mr. William II. West, of Cab. otville, aged about 7, came home tho day after the Thanksgiving of 1810, coughing and crying, and said she had swallowed a pin. This cough has continued violent since, at many times ma king her quite sick. Several physicians, how. ever, concluded after a few month that tho coughing proceeded from a diseaso in the throat. In December last, two years after the first com. plaint, in one of her violent coughing turns, she raised from her throat a common brass pin, con siderably corroded. The little girl is now per- fectly well. Northampton Courier, A lady making inquiries of boy about bis " father, an intemperate man, who had been tick fur soma time, asked whether he had regained his appetite. " No ma'am," says the boy, " not ' exactly; his appttile is very poor, but bis drink' elite is as good as ever." '